Ever Present Past
by Scruffy-Nerf-Hearder
Summary: It's been three years since SHIELD relocated Bruce and Minnie Banner, leaving them to start a new, and normal life. But what happens when Hydra joins forces with a new threat, everything they've worked for, and everything they've left behind is threatened... Sequel to "Which Me Do You like?" Bruce Banner/OC. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey ya'll! This is the first chapter of my sequel to my story "Which Me Do You Like?" If you haven't read that, I'd suggest you go read it, otherwise you'll probably be a little lost. To those of you who have read it, and are back for round two, thank you so much for continuing to read, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as- if not more than- the first one. So, without further distraction or stalling- may I present, Ever Present Past.**_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie, and Kayla.** _

* * *

Stark Industries was all dressed up, Tony Stark was hosting his usual party, a fundraiser charity for the firefighter's families, and yet as he stood there, drinking and pretending to be interested in everything, he was bored. He was _bored_, and when Tony Stark got bored- things tended to get a little _interesting_.

It would be almost too easy, he could go upstairs, get a suit, fly around the ballroom. At least it would be more fun than this, and a real conversation started if truth be honest. He smirked to himself before he stepped towards his private elevator. No one noticed the eccentric billionaire as he started to slip away.

Upon investigation he noticed his new assistant, Holly (a young girl he hired because number one, she was good at dealing with the press, but number two- and a very important number- she was intimidated by him), flirting with his driver, Happy. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be able to do whatever he wanted- no, that wasn't true, he could always do whatever he wanted, but with Pepper and- Well, with Pepper, it was always an argument, which made him reconsider doing it because he knew afterwards she would only come to him flipping out the moment she found out about what he did, using that tone of voice mothers use when they're upset and in slight disbelief.

Tony was lucky he caught himself there. He had almost said her name, and internally or not, it was still a very sore point for him. He was still pissed off. Pissed off at Hydra for latching onto her, for being the ones to find out about her condition, and he was pissed off at SHIELD for taking her away- but not only her, they had also taken away one of the smartest men, if not the smartest he had worked with. There was so much more the two of them could have accomplished by working together.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice the elevator doors closing until it was almost too late. He shoved his arm between them, and they opened back up again, he stepped inside and hit the close doors button. The doors closed quickly and he stood there for a minute, staring at his reflection in the mirrored insides of the doors.

"Did you plan on going somewhere or did you just need an escape sir?" Jarvis- his brilliantly programmed AI- asked.

"The penthouse Jarvis." he said and he felt the elevator moving from beneath his feet. He leaned his head back against the elevator wall and let out a small sigh. The elevator slowed down moments later, before stopping at the floor. The doors slid open with a small 'ping' and he stepped into his apartment as he struggled to pull off his tie. "Jarvis bring up picture." he said, Jarvis brought up a computer screen on the glass wall facing the city. "Bring up the wedding photo." he said and the screen changed to show a picture of Minnie and Bruce, his arms around her, smiling. The Hulk, smiling. Tony smirked at the thought of all the jokes he would make now, none of which he could, because even though he had the means, to contact her would be risky, and just plain stupid, and while Tony Stark was all about the risky business (cue Bob Seger playing in his head), to compromise their lives, and the life of their daughter- he wasn't that stupid. He knew to stay away, even if it meant living with two of his closest friends so close, and yet completely out of reach.

He heard the elevator door open, and he turned, then seeing Pepper walking into the room he turned back. "Jarvis, clear the screen-"

"No Jarvis, don't." Pepper said and he stood up quickly as she approached.

"Why aren't you down there entertaining?" he asked quickly.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"You been to one of these things, you've been to 'em all." he said casually. "At this point, it's just running through the motions, get drink, greet people, have another drink, give speech, order a scotch, make mindless small talk with people I'll never see again." he shrugged. "You're better at this stuff, that's why I married you." he nodded to the very large diamond ring sitting on her left hand ring finger.

"You think I don't miss them too?" she asked stepping closer to him. He looked to the side and averted her gaze. "Tony, she was my best friend, I miss her every day." she said softly. She moved over to her husband and put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "And Bruce- god I miss having him around I think he was one of the only people who could just roll with your-"

"Eccentricities?"

"Ego." she said and he thought for a second, before he nodded.

"That works." he agreed.

"Have you tried talking to Phil-"

"Honestly, what is it with you and that man's first name?"

"You've used it."

"Uh, knowingly, I have not, no."

"Jarvis, bring up the video."

A video came up of Loki in Stark tower. _Tony standing between a very frightened looking Minnie, and Loki who was advancing on Tony. "You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it." Tony said sternly to Loki, Minnie behind him smiled softly at the back of her boss_. Tony started to turn away but Pepper put her hand on his shoulder.

_"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" he touched the point of his scepter to the arc reactor and frowned when nothing happened. "This usually works." he muttered. _

_"Oh, well, performance issues." Tony nodded; Minnie's smile grew as did her eyes, though she honestly wasn't surprised. "Nothing to be ashamed of, pretty common really, one in five I think-" Tony was cut off by Loki grabbing him by the throat and throwing him through the window. Minnie kicked her pumps off and went running past Loki to the stairs, he looked at her with amusement, then turned as the Iron Man suit went flying after Tony out the window. Tony flew up in front of the window. "And there's one other person you pissed off! His name is Phil." _Tony said, before the video cut off.

"Why would you keep that on your hard drive?"

"Mrs. Stark gave me explicate instructions not to delete any video with Ms.- Mrs. Banner in it."

"I miss her too Tony." Pepper said softly and he looked at her. The picture of the wedding with everyone, the Avengers, Minnie, Bruce, Phil and even Fury.

"Hey," he took her hand. "Let's go. I bet the stiffs are waiting for us." They went back downstairs, Pepper retying Tony's tie in the elevator, they got down there and stepped back out into the party.

"Hey, Tony," the ex Senator Carl Jameson said as Tony tried to slip by. "Come over here a minute."

"Well, Senator, good to see you? I expect I'll find your daughter somewhere around the bar?" he looked towards the bar.

"Uh, cute, Tony, cute." Carl nodded, before turning to the people he had been talking to. "Tony, this is Norman Osborn, and his guest, Leona Hiss."

"Oh, well, nicccccce to meet you." Tony said, hissing out the 'C'. He could see Holly stare at him in horror, but she made no move to come over and chew him out, the way Minnie would have done. He sighed and looked back to them, then walked over to Holly. "You're fired." he said before he went to the bar and ordered a drink.

* * *

"Welcome home Dr. Banner." Jarvis said as Bruce pulled his car into the driveway. When Minnie and Bruce had come to live there about two years ago he remembered the surprise when they went to the gerage and found two cars sitting there for them. Minnie had gone straight to the green Mini cooper and proclaimed it her's-

"After all," she said as she ran her finger over the letters spelling out 'Mini Cooper' "It's got my name on it." not that he minded, the green had made him a little uneasy and he couldn't help but wonder if Phil had done that on purpose.

"Thank you Jarvis." Bruce said as he got out of the car and shut the garage door.

"Sir-" Jarvis said hesitantly. "I would put down the papers if I were you."

"Are they planning an ambush?" he asked, a smile creeping into his voice.

"I am not at liberty to say." Jarvis replied and Bruce smiled before he set down the papers he was holding to grade that night. Who would have thought he'd be teaching chemistry to a bunch of high schoolers who didn't know a beaker from a Bunsen burner. Bruce slowly opened the door leading from the garage to the house. It was silent.

"Hello?" he called into the silent house. Even the damn dog was quiet- not that he was complaining, the dog had been something more for Minnie than himself, he wasn't particularly fond of the fussy little dog, though he was amused when Minnie took his dry suggestion of naming the cocker spaniel after her best friend Dallas. "I wonder where they could be." he said feigning ignorance.

He could hear a giggle from behind the sofa in the living room so he scratched the back of his head, remembering to take his glasses off. This wasn't a glasses friendly game that much he had learned. "Well, I guess they're not home." he said as he made his way towards the couch. He could see Makayla sticking her head out from around one side of the couch, looking for him so he silently snuck around the other side of the couch, and scooped her up in one arm at the same time as wrapping his other arm around Minnie. Both girls screamed and laughed making him laugh. He carried Makayla under on arm and kept his other one wrapped around Minnie as they walked into the kitchen, where he deposited Kayla on the kitchen counter, and turned his attention to his wife.

"Hiya," she smiled before she lightly kissed his chin. He smiled and kissed her deeply before she pulled away and looked at their daughter who had her hands over her eyes. "Kayla, get down from there." she said as she picked the girl up and put her down. "Oh boy you're getting to big to do that."

"Nu-uh!" she squealed, before attaching herself to Bruce's leg.

"That's right, nu-uh." he picked her up and swung her into the air making her shriek with excitement.

"Bruce, look at her face!" Minnie laughed as Kayla's face turned bright red with laughter.

"Sorry about that Red." he said and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Baby, go find Dallas okay?" Minnie asked as Bruce put Kayla down.

"Okay Mommy." she said and stumbled from dizziness. She walked out of the room and Bruce put his arm around Minnie's shoulder.

"You're over exciting yourself too." Minnie said as Bruce breathes hardly.

"I'm fine." he said with a smile.

"God and you wonder where she gets her stubbornness from." she asked and he grinned as she opened the fridge and handed him a bottle of water.

"I never wondered that, I knew she got it from you." he said and she hit his arm making him smile.

"Ready for the long weekend?"

"You know I am." he sighed. "I've gotten a little behind in grading papers, so this weekend will be good for that." he paused and sighed darkly. "I never in my life thought I'd be saying those words."

"Well I never thought I'd say what I'm about to say, but honey, do you think that's a stretch mark?"

"Minnie, for the last time you don't have stretch marks." he said. She had been increasingly worried about her figure after having Kayla, and even though she was still wearing the same clothes she had worn before she was constantly checking herself for stretch marks,

"Will you just look at it?" she asked as she lifted her shirt and pointed to a place on her flat stomach where he saw nothing but her flat stomach.

"You know that that you mention it..." he said, bending over and putting his glasses on. She looked at him in horror and he looked up with a grin. "Now that you mention it, there are no stretch marks." he said before he lifted her onto the counter and pulled her into a deep kiss. She giggled through the kiss and ran her fingers through the back of his hair before they heard a scampering and a barking, and then Kayla's laugh.

"To be continued." she said softly to him before giving him another light peck on the lips. He gave her a small half smile before he sighed and pulled away.

"Kayla!" he called. "How many times have we told you not to color on the dog?" he sighed as he looked down at the now multi colored Cocker Spaniel. The dog looked up at him and he rolled his eyes.

* * *

Later that night after getting Kayla to bed I went downstairs to see Bruce grading tests, his trusty red pen his students had grown to hate in his hand. "Honey," I said and he looked up at me. I smiled lightly at him and he smiled as I walked over and sat down with him.

"I don't get it Minnie, I really don't." he sighed. "These kids are capable of this, I know they are. It's like they don't want to learn it, and it's so easy."

"Well, honey, in their defense, you are a genius, and a scientist who hasn't had to teach this stuff before."

"What are you saying?" he asked and I sighed.

"Do you remember when you explained the tesseract to me? How I didn't understand it at first? And you made that example that I understood?" I asked and he nodded. "Well, I'm not particularly clever, and I feel like I know a little something about tesseract science now, because you explained it in ways I could understand." I said. "What you need to do is find an analogy that those kids will understand."

"Like what?" he asked and I sighed as I rested my chin on his shoulder.

"I don't know. You're the one that's around teenagers all day, not me. How would you explain it if it was Kayla?"

"I'd tell her to ask me when she's older."

"No you wouldn't and you know it." I said and he sighed as he looked at the papers, then looked at me.

"I'd probably explain it the best I could, knowing I was explaining it to a three year old." he said slowly.

"And would you use the text book as your only backup?"

"No, the textbook is bullshit, it's written by amateurs." he said and I laughed.

"See, no apply that to your class, and maybe they'll understand what you're saying?" I suggested and he smiled at me. "Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week." I said and he laughed.

"How are you doing?" he asked and I sighed as I rested my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me, and put his evil red pen down.

"I want to paint the kitchen."

"Really?" he looked around and I nodded. "Well I guess it is a little... Boring." he shrugged. "What color were you thinking?"

"I don't know." I shrugged and he sighed, rubbing his eyes. "What do you think?"

"I think I need to finish these tests."

"Well, do you want to know what I think?"

"I know I'll find out anyway." he said and then looked up. She nodded.

"Well that proves my point." I said.

"Honey I-"

"Baby, you're tired." I sighed as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "Come on, come to bed."

"No, Minnie, I need to finish these-"

"You've got three days to do them, and you've been working all day, come on." I took his hands and pulled him to his feet with a sigh before leading him to our bedroom. "I'll be right back." I said and went down the hall. I pushed open the door to the bedroom and looked in at our sleeping daughter. She had kicked off her blankets in her sleep, and had her arm draped over the multi colored dog.

"We're going to have to wash the dog tomorrow." Bruce muttered and I laughed. "And take away those markers."

"Oh honey, you can't take away her markers, she'll be so depressed." I said and he sighed with a small nod as he slipped into the room and pulled her blankets over her sleeping form. As soon as he turned around she kicked them off and rolled over. He threw his hands up and I smiled as I took his hand, I closed the door, leaving it open a crack in case the dog wanted to leave the room.

I led him back to our room and we both changed into pyjamas before climbing into bed together. He pulled his glasses off and set them on the bedside table before he clicked off his lamp and turned back over to me. He wrapped his arm around my waist as I leaned into his chest.

"What's been bugging you?" he asked.

"Oh, just... Not knowing I guess." I sighed.

"I'll call Phil tomorrow." he said softly.

"What's the point?" I asked. "He always says the same thing."

"Well maybe tomorrow he won't." he said and I smiled as I looked at him.

"When did you become such an optimist?"

"Must have picked it up from my wife." he sighed.

"She sounds pretty smart." I said.

"Smartest person I know." he replied and I smiled before I leaned forward and kissed his chin, then moved my lips up to his. He kissed be back deeply before I sighed and snuggled back into his chest. "Good night." he said softly.

"Good night." I muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey ya'll, I'm so glad you seem to be liking the story so far! Here's chapter two, and I hope you like it just as much!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. I only own Minnie, Kayla, and the dog.

* * *

Nick Fury walked through the hallways of SHIELD, his leather jacket billowing out behind him, a look of pure anger on his face. Most people who knew him well enough knew to stay out of his way at this point. He stepped into a room full of monitors and he moved to the middle of the room, so he was in view of all of the monitors and they all could see him. "What is this fifty state initiative crap?" he demanded as he held up a folder.

"Director Fury, you seem more than willing to continue to not know where your agents are at all times, you also continue to evade our requests to know the location of SHIELD agents-"

"It's the right of the SHIELD director to decide what information gets released and what doesn't." Fury said looking sternly at the woman who had spoken.

"The public has a right to know who lives next door. Joe and Jane Everyman are more and more concerned with who their kids are playing with, who their coworkers are, and with some of those... People and their abilities to hide what they are, it makes it harder for people to know who they can and can't trust."

"Not to mention the fact that you still won't address the Hydra issue."

"Hydra was able to survive for seventy years underground until they decided they wanted to make themselves known again. Now that we know them, they're trying to go underground again; we have agents working very closely with Hydra."

"If you know what they're after, why don't you utilize that and smoke them out?"

"They are not after Dr. Banner, we feel they believe his DNA is too unstable. They want something else. They want his daughter."

"The Hulk has a child?" one of the people asked and he looked at them.

"Dr. Banner has a child who has shown no similarities to her father in any unstable way." Fury said and cocked his head slightly.

"Director Fury, you haven't met Norman yet have you? This is Norman Osborn."

"I know who he is, what I don't know what he's doing here."

"Norman has been approved by the government to develop a new organization, one who shares our concern over this mutant issue."

"Dr. Banner, is not a mutant. His condition is the result of an accident."

"An accident that was caused by a team trying to do exactly what Hydra does."

"Dr. Banner has never and will never work with Hydra." Norman grinned at Director Fury's cold stare.

"And how do you know that director?" he asked and Fury looked at him.

"Ask him yourself, SHIELD will not be responsible for what happens to you." Fury said icily.

"By all means Director," Norman grinned. "But you'll have to tell us where he is first." Director Fury turned and started to walk out of the room. "Either you tell us, or our agent finds out, it's your choice Director." he called out after Fury.

* * *

Bruce looked up as another one of his students stood up, the unmistakable scraping of the chair legs against the cool tile floor as they walked over to his desk. He shouldn't have been surprised it was Amanda Sorrenson, the girl practically wrote down everything he said from the moment class started to the moment it ended. He wouldn't be surprised if she wrote down everything anyone said in class, making him picture a job of court transcribing in her future. She uncertainly set the test down on his desk. He raised his eyebrows as she quickly grabbed her pencil and erased an answer then filled in a different bubble, and put it down again.

"You sure?" he asked and she nodded. "You have a book?"

"I have three." she answered quickly. "Why, did you want one?"

"Go sit down and read Amanda." he said softly and she walked away as he looked back at the lesson plans he was writing up for the next week. Over the next forty minutes he continued his weeklong lesson plan and the rest of his students finished their tests. "Everyone finished?" he asked standing up, five minutes before the class ended. They all looked up at him and he nodded. "Okay, don't forget, you've got to do the questions on pages 236 though 237, I want long answers, not just writing "Because that's how it works"." he looked at a student who sniggered lightly. "And if you have any questions, I'll be here after class." the bell rang and everyone stood up, getting their bags and walking out of the classroom, he noticed Amanda biting her lip looking concerned. He gave her a smile and she smiled back, before she paused, letting everyone walk out of the room. "Amanda, you can't change another answer." he said and she shook her head.

"No, that's not it Mr. Roberts." she said softly. "Um, I was wondering what you knew about mutants?" she asked and he frowned lightly. It was lunch, so he didn't have to worry about another class coming in and interrupting them. He went to the door and closed it before he returned to his seat.

"Is there something you want to tell me Amanda?" She nodded tearfully and he leaned across the desk. "Amanda, I'm your teacher, I'm here to help you." he said softly and she nodded again, before she sighed, and stood up, she moved away from the desk, and moved to a clear spot of the room where she had room.

She looked at him intently before he noticed her face starting to turn masculine, her hair from strawberry blond to dark brown, and became curly and slightly graying, not unlike his own. Her chin pointed and her eyes turned dark, her face becoming a face he hadn't seen in years, and seeing it now in his classroom, he could feel his heart pounding, his head started to ache, he could feel the other guy pushing forward, his fists clenched-

"Stop!" he said quickly, standing up, and slamming his hand on his desk. She changed back, her hair growing out, her face softening, and changing back to the normal girl he had gotten used to seeing every day.

"I'm sorry." she said quickly and he shook his head.

"No, no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." He moved over to her and put his hand on her shoulder and led her back to her seat.

"I change into what my opponent fears most." she said softly and he nodded.

"I gathered as much." he said softly as he went to the sink in the corner and filled two plastic cups with water. He brought them back to his desk and handed one to her.

"Who was I?" she asked and he sipped his water as he sat down. Her green eyes shone with curiosity as he set the cup down.

"My father." he admitted.

"Then that's something we have in common." she said softly.

"Amanda, do your parents know?" he asked and she looked down bitterly.

"I lost my mom when I was a kid." she said softly.

"Something else we have in common." he said gently.

"And my dad isn't exactly the type I can talk to about these things."

"Is there anyone you can talk to about this?" he asked and she looked at him.

"I was always told I could talk to my teachers." she said softly and he nodded.

"No, of course you can." he said and then cleared his throat. "I mean, long term, someone who can help you figure everything out. I understand high school is difficult, and now you've got this to manage on top of everything."

"I lose control sometimes." she said and he sighed sympathetically, knowing how that felt.

"Amanda, trust me, you're not as alone as you think." he said and she looked at him with a frown.

"How would you know?"

"From years of experience." he said and her gaze softened.

"I'm sorry Mr. Roberts." she said and he nodded.

"This is my home phone number." he said as he wrote it down. "If you ever need to talk or anything, call me." he folded the paper and she took it with an appreciative smile. "I have a friend I can call, maybe he'll know someone you can talk to." he continued and she smiled gratefully at him.

"Can I hug you?" she asked and he sighed before he nodded. She smiled and walked around the desk as he stood up and let her hug him tightly.

"Thank you so much Mr. Roberts." she said and he nodded as he patted her shoulder.

"Now go eat your lunch." he said to her. "You've only got about fifteen minutes."

"Thanks again Mr. Roberts." she smiled as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Friday evening I woke up with a start, the phone was ringing. "Hello?" I mumbled into the phone, only to hear a female crying. "Hello?"

"_Is Mr. Roberts there?_" the voice asked and I turned to Bruce who was sleeping with his arm draped over me as usual.

"Honey." I shook his shoulder. "**Honey.**" I shook him a little harder.

"What happened? What's wrong?" he asked as he woke up.

"I don't know." I said as I handed the phone to him.

"Hello?" he asked, running his hand through his hair. I sat up and clicked the light on. "Amanda? Amanda, calm down, what happened?" he listened for a moment, and then nodded even though the girl couldn't see him. "No, where are you? Where? Okay. No, don't move, I'll be right there." he said and handed the phone to me.

"Bruce, what is it?" I asked as he got out of bed and pulled on his discarded boxer shorts from earlier in the evening.

"One of my students is a mutant." he said as he grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater. "She lost control in front of her father and he threw her out." he said and I put my hand over my mouth.

"Oh Jeeze." I said softly and he nodded.

"Yeah, uh, she's gonna stay on the couch, okay?" he asked and I nodded as he shoved his feet into some shoes.

"Of course, go get her." I said and he nodded as he grabbed his keys. I heard Kayla wake up and start crying in the other room so I got up and pulled on my underpants and my favorite purple shirt of his and some yoga pants.

"I'll be back in twenty minutes." he kissed me quickly.

"Go." I said as he walked out of the bedroom. I went to Kayla's room and calmed her down by calling Dallas into the room. He hopped up onto her bed and curled up next to her, I rubbed her back and sang her a song and soon she fell right back to sleep before I went to the linens closet and grabbed some sheets, a blanket and a pillow and brought them downstairs to the couch. I pulled out the couch bed and made it all up when I heard the garage door opening.

"Dr. Banner is home with a young girl." Jarvis said and I nodded.

"Thank you Jarvis." I said.

"Perhaps it would be best if I try not to talk while she's here?"

"Yeah, for now that would be good." I said. "And if you must, it's Roberts." I reminded him.

"Of course, Mrs. Roberts." he said and I smiled before the garage door opened. Bruce came in with a half drenched, still crying young girl who looked to be about sixteen. I walked over to her and moved the hair from her face; I frowned seeing a split lip and large bruise on the left side of her face.

"I'm s-so sorry M-Mrs. Roberts." she hiccupped through her sobs and I shook my head.

"No, honey, there's nothing to be sorry about." I said as I pulled her into a hug. She hugged be back and buried her face in my shoulder. "Bruce, go put the kettle on." I said to him and he nodded as he moved to the kitchen and I could hear him filling the pot with water. "Come on, let it out." I said softly as she cried. "Amanda, right?" I asked and she nodded. "I'm Emily, is this all you have?" I looked at her clothes and she nodded again. "Well, come on, let's get your cleaned up." I said as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and led her upstairs. I brought her to our bedroom and into our bathroom, where I left her for a moment. I returned with a pair of my pyjama pants and a tee shirt and handed them to her. "Bring your clothes downstairs and I'll wash them tonight, okay?" I asked and she nodded. "Come downstairs when you're ready." I said and she smiled lightly at me.

"Thank you Mrs. Roberts." she said.

"You can call me Emily Sweetheart." I said and she smiled a little more before I left the bathroom and went downstairs.

"Where is she?"

"She's changing." I said and he nodded. A few minutes later Amanda came downstairs and I walked over and took her wet clothes. I brought them to the laundry room and put them in the wash before I returned to the kitchen as Bruce turned off the stove. He poured cups of tea for the three of us and I opened the tea drawer. He claimed putting them in a drawer was safer for me. I generally tended to agree with him on that. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked her softly as I sat across the table from her. She looked at Bruce and he nodded.

"I- I'm a... I'm a mutant." she said softly and then sighed.

"Feels better saying it doesn't it?" Bruce asked and she nodded.

"Yeah." she said with a small sigh. "I'm a mutant, and I was really, really stressed tonight because next week I've got a huge test in Mr. MacDonald's class-"

"History." Bruce looked at me and I nodded.

"And I was trying to study but my dad kept making me do things all night, and I started to freak a little, and I just- I just wanted him to leave me alone." she said as she looked at the table top with a frown. "And he wouldn't stop pestering me, and he kept coming into my room, and I- I didn't mean so, but I saw what it was and I changed." she said softly. "And I think I started towards him, because I remember changing back, and he was backed up against a wall, and when I changed back, he- he hit me." she muttered, lightly touching her cheek. "And he told me to get out, he started to shout and threaten me and I just took off." she looked back up at us. "I didn't mean to." she said. "I just wanted to study."

"Honey, there's nothing wrong with what you are." I touched her arm. "You just need to learn how to control it. Trust me." I smiled.

"Amanda, you should get some sleep." Bruce said as she yawned. "We can figure everything out in the morning, okay?" he asked and she nodded.

"Thank you for letting me stay here Mr. Roberts." She looked at me. "Thank you Mrs.- Emily." she said and I smiled.

"We'll figure everything out tomorrow." I said softly and I hugged her. She hugged me back before I showed her to the couch and then told her where the downstairs bathroom was. When Bruce and I got upstairs he changed to his pyjama pants and left his tee shirt on, and climbed into bed with me.

"So..." he said softly and I sighed. "What do we do?"

"Well, Phil is coming over tomorrow." I said and he groaned softly.

"I forgot about that." he muttered.

"Maybe he'll have an idea." I shrugged and he nodded.

"I hope so." he said and I leaned up and lightly kissed his chin as he wrapped his arm around me.

"Good night baby." I said softly and he looked at me before he kissed me gently.

"Good night." he said. I don't think either of us got much sleep for a few hours, a thunderstorm had rolled in and was making quite a bit of noise when Kayla ran into the room, and pulled on Bruce's arm.

"Daddy." she whispered. "Daddy!" she whispered impatiently.

"What now?" he opened his eyes.

"Kayla, baby, what's going on?" I sat up as Bruce lifted her into the bed.

"It's okay." Bruce said softly as I looked over at them. I sighed and then smiled lightly at Kayla.

"Baby, what did Mommy say about thunder?"

"It's the gods way of going from one place to another, but Mommy, Stevie Monroe says that's sacrilegious." she said sounding worried.

"Baby, there are many gods." I said as I settled down in the bed next to her. I wrapped my arm around her and looked at Bruce with a small smile. "And one day maybe Stevie Monroe will meet one of them." I sighed. "But not with that attitude." she giggled and I smiled at Bruce who shook his head with a smile.

"Did you ever meet a god Mommy?"

"Sure she did." Bruce said as he lay back down. "So did I."

"Really?" she looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Yup, he was there when we got married." he said and she looked at him, then to me.

"Story?" she asked and he shook his head.

"Not now Kayla. Ask in the morning." his voice trailed off as he fell back asleep.

"Go to sleep princess Kayla." I said softly and she sighed before lying back on the bed.

A minute later Dallas came running into the room after another clap of thunder and lightning. He whined, and then jumped onto the bed before curling up at the bottom.

Kayla fell asleep and I thought about the girl downstairs before I slowly drifted off, another clap of thunder hit and I smiled lightly as I thought about the god I'd have to tell Kayla about tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey ya'll, sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. It's a little shorter then you're used to for this story, but it's because I've got some plans for the next chapter. I hope you like it! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers or anything you may recognize. Except Minnie. She's mine.** _

* * *

Phil Coulson stood in front of the mirror in one of the SHIELD bathrooms and straightened his tie, even though he knew he'd be getting on a helicopter and flying to Maine soon. He sighed then washed his hands before the door to the men's room opened and Director Fury walked in. "Director." Phil nodded knowing Fury was in there for a reason, he had his own private bathroom of course, so for him to be in here, it was unusual.

"I want you to keep an extra close eye on Dr. Banner today." Fury said.

"Any particular reason?" Phil asked.

"The fifty state initiative." he said softly and Phil's face fell.

"Sir, they're not really thinking of-"

"They are." Fury interrupted. "And they're making it clear they want him."

"Why?"

"They believe he holds the key to shutting down Hydra." Fury paused and then looked back at Phil. "We also need to look into this Norman Osborn. I want to know everything about him, go through ever channel as soon as possible." Fury said and Phil cocked his head.

"Sir?"

"He's been given government funding to start an organization to enforce the Fifty State Initiative." Fury said. "I don't know how much longer the usual channels will be safe."

"Right away sir." Phil said softly. "Should I perhaps convince Dr. Banner to bring his family back in?"

"Not yet." Fury said thoughtfully. "As far as we know, they don't know where he is. Until we feel his cover is compromised, leave him be." Fury decided and Phil nodded. "Get your best on that Osborn guy, and I want all information on the locations of other heroes removed from our systems. I want a secure system that only one person can activate at any time, and I want it to be impossible to get into by anyone else who tries."

"Sir, there's only one person who has the ability to do that all." Phil said hesitantly.

"Then you'd better go talk to him." he said before he exited the bathroom. Phil sighed and then looked at the mirror before he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Heather? Hey, it's Phil. Yeah, I'm really sorry, I'm going to have to cancel tonight. I know I'm sorry. No, I have to go visit Tony Stark. Now actually." he sighed. "No, why don't we shoot for tomorrow? Okay, talk to you later." he hung up the phone before he slipped it back into his pocket. He gave his tie another tweak and then walked out of the bathroom. Today was going to be a very long day.

* * *

The next morning Amanda woke up in an unfamiliar bed, in unfamiliar clothes, with an unfamiliar throbbing in her left cheek. She groaned softly when she remembered what had happened.

The night before, with her dad.

At first he was just on her ass about the usual things, she hadn't done her chores right, she had washed the dishes but she didn't dry them and put them away, or she had done the laundry but it wasn't folded right. Then as the night progressed and his state of inebriation increased he was calling her out of her room for more things, the windows were open, the dog needed to be let out, heaven forbid he get off his ass to do it.

After his fifth or sixth drink he was slamming her door open, demanding she not shut it in his house, then it was about how dare she put on headphones, how was she going to hear him when he needed her, the final straw was when he demanded to know why she didn't pull her weight around the house. She didn't know she had become his mother, scolding him in the same voice and manner that his mom had done when he was growing up, until she caught sight of herself in the mirror. The shock of changing without realizing it, along with the strong punch to the left side of her face made her change back, her father was cornered against the wall, staring at her in horror.

"What the hell are you?" he demanded as she held her cheek staring at him with a similar look on her face. "I'm not havin' no mutants under my roof." he snarled. "Get out!"

She stood there, unsure of herself for a moment before he grabbed her by the back of the neck and dragged her to the front door, he shoved her out of the house, not caring that she fell on the gravel outside, she looked back at him as he stared at her in disgust before he slammed the door shut. She curled up in a ball and let out a small sob before she heard him throw something inside of the house. She jumped up and took off running, she made it to the Roxxon station, and she slipped her hands into her jacket pockets, pondering her next move as she sat down on the curb.

Her fingers folded around a slip of paper and she pulled it out of her pocket. It was the paper Mr. Roberts had given to her. She went inside and managed to convince the shop person to let her use the phone. It started raining while she stood outside, rather than running inside she sat there and let the rain wash over her face. Mr. Roberts pulled up and got out of the car, he didn't use an umbrella he just walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Come on Amanda," he said softly. "Let's go." She followed him to the car and got in, not a word was spoken as he drove, and she was grateful for that. He seemed to know it. Everything happened so quickly after that, they got to his house, his wife seemed to take over from there, and she was sweet and gentle and seemed to understand the situation.

Amanda lay staring at the ceiling of the living room before she sighed and turned over to find a white cocker spaniel lying next to her. He looked up at her and started to wag his tiny tail. She smiled and lightly pet his head making him roll over onto her. She laughed and a voice ran out from the kitchen.

"Is the dog bugging you sweetheart?" Amanda sat up quickly and smiled at Emily who was cooking something.

* * *

The morning after was soggy and wet, and I woke up with Kayla laying on my arm, her face pressed into my neck. I moved out of her grasp, and went to the bathroom, then washed my face and brushed my hair into a ponytail. I smiled seeing Bruce had fallen asleep in his glasses, I walked over to him and lightly removed them from his face, he reached up quickly and touched my hand, and I smiled gently.

"Go back to sleep." I said softly. He put his hand down and I put the glasses on his bedside table. I went to the kitchen and saw Dallas lying on the bed with Amanda who was still sleeping. I smiled lightly and pulled some food out of the refrigerator, I put a pan on the stove and broke some eggs into a bowl and whisked them with a fork before adding a little milk, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. I finished whisking and started dipping bread into the egg mixture when I heard Amanda giggle lightly.

"Is that dog bugging you sweetheart?" I asked and Amanda sat up.

"No, he's just funny is all." she said.

"You hungry?"

"Can help you Mrs. Roberts?" she asked as she got out of the bed and walked into the living room.

"You can start by remembering, call me Emily." I smiled at her, though the name still felt strange on my tongue. I'd never gotten used to it and honestly I knew I never really would.

"Right, I forgot." she nodded and I smiled. "So, can I help?" she asked and I nodded.

"Grab another pan in the cupboard, and start up some scrambled eggs." I pointed to a cupboard and she did as I told her. We cooked and I asked her questions about school, she asked me questions about Bruce and I told her the SHIELD written way of how we had met. A little while later Bruce came downstairs holding Kayla under his arm.

"Hi, I'm Makayla Antonia Roberts, but Mommy and Daddy call me Kayla, what's your name?" she asked Amanda who smiled.

"Amanda Carol Sorrenson." Amanda smiled and Kayla grinned.

"Good morning," I said to Bruce, kissing him.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"Not long." I shrugged, and turned to the coffee pot. I poured him a cup of coffee and he took it with another quick kiss. "Amanda do you drink coffee?"

"Yeah, like four cups." she sighed.

"That explains a lot." Bruce muttered before taking a sip of his coffee. I rolled my eyes with a small smile and handed her a cup of coffee and let her fix it the way she wanted.

"Come here you." I said as I picked Kayla up and put her into her chair. "You hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah I thought so." I said as I put her favorite pink plastic flowered plate in front of her with a slice of cut up French toast and some scrambled eggs. "What's the rule?" I asked.

"No feeding Dallas?" she asked and I nodded. "But Daddy does it!"

"I do not!" Bruce said looking guilty.

"I know _Daddy_ does it." I said to Kayla. "But you're _not_ Daddy, and if I _catch_ Daddy doing it, he's going to be in big trouble." I shot Bruce a look; he made himself busy by getting the newspaper. I saw Amanda sitting there with an amused look on her face. "Trust me sweetheart, this is a normal breakfast for us." I said as I set a plate down in front of her.

"So... What happens next?" she asked and I shrugged.

"That's the sixty four thousand dollar question, isn't it?" I asked and she smiled lightly.

"You are way too young to be making that reference." Bruce said as he sat down at the table again.

"Oh you love it." I said and he smiled, before I turned back to Amanda. "A friend of ours who works with..." I paused, thinking about the best way to word it. "Extraordinary people, is coming over today. We'll wait until he gets here and we'll ask him what he wants to do." I looked at her. "What do you want to do?"

"I never want to go back." she said instantly and I nodded.

"Okay." I said and she smiled. "Finish your breakfast; Phil will be here in a few hours."

"Phil's coming?" Kayla looked up from handing the dog a piece of French toast.

"Yes sweetheart, Phil is coming over." I said, smiling at her excitement. She jumped out of her seat and ran down the hall, leaving the three of us laughing at her eagerness to please her parent's friend.

* * *

Please feel free to review!


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey ya'll! Here's chapter four, I hope you like it! I'm sorry it takes me a little while to get these out, it's harder for me to get time to write, I've been working a little more again. After the fourth I'll probably have more time to update faster. I hope you like this chapter, you get a small glimpse of the impending doom. I now have Gir from Invader Zim singing the Doom song in my head... Anyways... Here's the chapter, it's late here so I'm going to post, and go to bed. Enjoy! **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie, Kayla, and Amanda. Enjoy!** _

* * *

"Hello Phil," I smiled at Phil Coulson when I opened the door. "Come on in."

"Minnie, how are you?" he asked with a smile.

"I'm good, how are you?" I asked as he came in and a few SHIELD agents stayed outside.

"It's been a long day." he admitted.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"Ah, so it's Tony."

"It usually is." he smiled as we walked to the living room. Kayla was outside with Dallas and Amanda, he saw them running around and he looked at me.

"Bruce bringing his work home with him?" he looked at me and I smiled lightly. BRBRBr

"Yeah, I need to talk to you about that." I said and nodded to the kitchen.

"What's-"

"Phil." Bruce walked into the kitchen and Phil nodded to him.

"Dr. Banner," he shook his hand. "Good to see you, your wife and I were just discussing your little friend out there." Phil nodded to the door.

"Let me go get her." I said and I went to the back yard.

"Amanda, sweetheart, can you come in here please?"

"Coming." she said as she picked Kayla up. Kayla was red in the face from running out and looked really tuckered out.

"Come on baby." I said as I took her from Amanda. I laid her on the couch and smoothed the hair from her face. "Jarvis put on the Lion King." it was her favorite movie.

"I wanna see Phil." she whined.

"Phil will be here after your nap." I said as I laid her back down. She sighed and I stayed there, rubbing her back as she slowly fell asleep. When I went to the kitchen Amanda Phil and Bruce were sitting, Amanda was tearing up a tissue and Phil looked semi startled.

"Did she-"

"Yes." Phil said quickly.

"Who-"

"Nothing." he insisted, his cheeks tinged with pink. He cleared his throat and sighed. "Amanda, what do you want to do?"

"I don't want to go back." she said softly.

"Fair enough." he nodded. "There's a school, in New York, they take in cases like yours." he explained. "Would you be willing to go there?" She looked at me and bit her lip.

"I want to stay here." she said in a small voice and I smiled gently.

"Sweetheart, we'd love to have you stay here," I took her hand. "But we can't give you what you need to be able to control your abilities."

"But- Mr. Roberts? You're like me right?" she asked and Bruce took his glasses off.

"What I am is the result of an experiment gone bad." he explained. "You're much more special, and to be honest, going back to school here, do you want everyone to know what you are?" he asked and she sighed with a small nod. "Finals are in a few weeks, how far into them until you have a moment of weakness? Trust me, I've been there."

"I- I don't want to be alone." she said looking at Phil.

"You won't be." I said as I gave her hand a light squeeze. "We'll be here for you." I smiled at her. "Even if we can't always be with you."

"I'll go to the school then." she said and Phil nodded, before gesturing to the SHIELD agent in the kitchen.

"Call the Xavier school and inform them that I'll be dropping off a new student for them." he said softly. The agent nodded and I noticed Amanda looking at him curiously as he went outside and made a phone call.

"Amanda, I want you to go with Agent Bradford, he's going to take you home, and get your things." Phil said and she instantly shook her head. "Amanda, you're going to have to trust us." he said and she looked at me. I nodded and she bit her lip before she looked at Phil.

"Okay." she said softly. He smiled and Agent Bradford took her to the car while I looked at Phil curiously.

"What aren't you telling us?" Bruce asked and Phil sighed.

"Director Fury asked me not to tell you," he said softly. "But I think you deserve to know. There's a new government agency, they're called H.A.M.M.E.R. and they've been set up to enforce the Fifty State initiative. Basically, the world wants to know where known heroes are at every minute of every day."

"What do they think they're going to do, chip us?" Bruce asked and Phil raised his eyebrows.

"If they have to." he said softly and I frowned as I took Bruce's hand. "They haven't found you yet, and we're having Stark work on a new security system for all of the files we have on any heroes, making it impossible for them to find anything out."

"But what if they do?" I asked and Phil looked between us.

"Then we'll reinstate you." he said honestly.

"Reinstate me?" Bruce asked lowly. "Wasn't the point of us leaving so they wouldn't-"

"If they find you, there will be an immediate threat to your daughter, your wife and yourself. Here you're no one but Bruce Roberts, high school chemistry teacher." Phil said. "But with us, you're Dr. Bruce Banner. The Incredible Hulk- a hero." he looked at Bruce, then to me. "On SHIELD's side, you'd be able to help end this."

"Why me?"

"The government hasn't exactly backed our decision to put you into hiding. They think we should be using you as bait, try to coax Hydra out into the open and take them down from there. Maybe infiltrate them. They're not only after you Bruce. They've taken quite a liking to the idea of getting their hands on Kayla, and other young people who have shown talents. Like Amanda."

"Kayla isn't like me, she's normal." he said softly, looking down. I gave his hand a light squeeze and he looked at me. "She's not like me."

"She's not like the other guy." I clarified. "But she's a lot like you. She's three years old and she's brilliant like you." I said and he smiled lightly. I looked back to Phil. "In the meantime, what do we do?"

"In the meantime I think it would be best if we had more contact, this threat is closing in, and closing in fast. Faster than most people want to admit. I'll have tony stark link Jarvis to his version, and bridge a small gap between us."

"Jarvis?" I asked with a small laugh. "Jarvis who?"

"Cut the act Minnie, do you really think we don't know what goes on here?" he asked and I crossed my arms.

"You better not know everything that goes on here." I said and he cleared his throat.

"Jarvis, how much longer until Tony Stark finishes linking?"

"I've been here for about five minutes now." Tony's voice filled the kitchen and I gasped as a video came up on the window. "Hey Minnie." he said and I covered my mouth with a smile.

"Tony." I laughed. "Can you- Can you see us?"

"Yeah, uh, there's a video camera in the light switch." he explained and I looked at Phil.

"Company regulation." he said with his hands up.

"Kinda pervy if you ask me." Tony shrugged. "Tell me Agent, who is it that keeps an eye on their security video? Oh, wait you don't need to tell me, what with my full access to SHIELD records." he grinned like a kid in Candy land. "Bruce, you'd love some of this stuff."

"I'm sure you'll have plenty to show me." Bruce smiled.

"Sure will." Tony grinned.

"Tony- Is that- Oh my god, Minnie!" I laughed as Pepper came into focus. "Hi Minnie, can you see me?" she asked as Tony looked a little put out of place as Pepper tried to move into the chair next to him.

"Of course I could Pep, it'd be hard to miss that rock." I nodded to her left hand and she laughed. "When?"

"Pepper's last birthday." Tony said.

"Oh that's great, he'll forget both things on the same day." I said and Pepper laughed.

"Not with my new assistant I won't." Tony said and my face fell. "I mean my old assistant." he shrugged and gave me a sly smile.

"Tony, they're not being reinstated today." Phil sighed.

"Mommy?" Kayla asked from the couch and Bruce walked over to her.

"Oh my god, is that her?" Pepper asked as he returned holding Kayla who was sucking her thumb and looking at the window with her wide eyes.

"Guys, this is our daughter," Bruce said with a proud smile. "Makayla, this is Tony, and Pepper."

"Your aunt and uncle." I said as I smoothed her red curls down.

"Good job man." Tony smiled lightly at Bruce who nodded back to him.

"Hi sweetheart." Pepper smiled brightly at Kayla.

"Hi." she said and looked at the window. "Why are you on our window?"

"We're actually in New York, this is us talking over the computer." Pepper said.

"Like Jarvis?" Kayla asked and Tony smiled.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist." he said to me and I shrugged.

"You once said Jarvis seemed to like having me around."

"If only you knew what you've missed, Mrs. Banner." Jarvis said with what sounded like a sigh. I laughed and Tony grinned.

"Anything to keep the AI happy huh Minnie?" he asked with a wink.

"Guys I hate to cut this short," Phil said and Tony looked annoyed. "But Agent Bradford should be back with Amanda anytime now, and I'd hate to explain why Tony Stark is in your kitchen window."

"That's true." Pepper sighed.

"Tony Stark?" Kayla asked and looked up at Tony with big eyes. "My momma says you're a superhero."

"Oh does she?" Tony looked at me and I smiled.

"It's a matter of public record who the Iron Man is." I said and he grinned.

"She says you're a smart ass." she said and Pepper laughed as did Bruce, and Phil even chuckled.

"She forgot narcissist, billionaire, playboy- Ow!" he rubbed his shoulder where Pepper had hit him and I shook my head.

"Daddy, what's a-"

"I'll tell you when you're older." he said instantly as I looked at Tony.

"Thanks." I said sarcastically.

"I don't get what the big deal is, I'll just buy her a pony." he said and I rolled my eyes with a small smile.

"I miss you guys so much, it was great seeing you."

"We'll talk soon, I promise." Pepper said.

"Bruce," Tony said and Bruce looked at him. "Good work big guy." he grinned and Bruce smiled as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, the line went out and Phil looked over at the front door as it opened.

"Mommy, what's a narcissist?" Kayla asked and I laughed as I took her from Bruce's arms.

"It's someone who's too big for their britches." I said and she laughed.

"What's britches?"

"Pants pumpkin." I said and she started to wiggle from my arms. I set her down and smiled as she took off.

"Phil!" she shouted as she ran down the hall after him. "I want stickers!" I laughed as she threw herself on the SHIELD agent's leg and He picked her up, pulling a plastic SHIELD badge from his inner pocket.

"See, you're a SHIELD agent now too." he said and she looked over at Bruce and me with a huge grin on her face.

"Jarvis, screen shot." I laughed.

"What's a Jarvis?" Amanda asked with a small frown.

* * *

Norman Osborn walked into his office, it was dark, and he turned on his lamp as he made his way to the desk, then paused, and turned back around. "Can I get you a drink?" he asked the tall thin woman with long black hair who had been standing behind the door to his office. She didn't respond and he smirked gently. "You sure? I'm having one." he paused as she watched him open the glass bottle. He raised it to his nose and then smiled. "You know you won't get far by killing me."

"Am I killing you?" she asked and he continued to smile.

"Are you?" she moved from the shadows and his eyes ran over her figure. She was so dangerous, power radiated from her body and just standing this close made him tense up with attraction. It was a bad trait of his, to be so attracted to power.

"When I kill you," she spoke with her Hungarian accent. "You'll know it."

"Then why are you here?" he put the bottle down, untouched.

"We have a deal."

"We do." he said. "And when we find it, we'll let you know."

"You're sure you have not already?" she asked, her eyes flickering to the file in his hand.

"You think I'd hold out on you?"

"Yes." her answer was instantaneous.

"Don't you trust me?"

"In our business, you trust no one." she said and looked him over with her green eyes, before she bit her lip in a most alluring way. His eyebrows rise as she moved towards him, her hips moved in a most seductive way, and she pressed herself against his body before sitting on his desk.

Her knees were parted, and he couldn't tear his eyes front the skin tight black pants she was wearing until she leaned forward, giving him a very good view right down her equally as tight top, displaying her ample chest. She snapped and he looked up at her. "What have you found out?" she asked and he swallowed before looking her over again, desire obvious in his eyes.

"Persuade me." he ordered and she frowned.

"That was not part of the deal."

"Details change all the time," he said as he moved in closer to her. "You want what I've got, you persuade me." he said and she looked at him for a long moment before she wrapped his long, ugly tie around her hand and pulled him in close, her lips dominated his mouth as he leaned over her, his hands on either side of the desk, supporting his weight.

The folder slipped off the desk and to the floor, where it lay open, the picture of a white house with red trim, two cars in the driveway and a very familiar red haired woman getting the mail, was clipped to the top of the file, and lay there for anyone who bothered to look down to see.

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**Reviews are appreciated! They made me update faster. (Hint- Hint)**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Hey ya'll! I hope you guys had a good 4th of July, if you celebrate it! I know I did, let's just say someone broke out my weakness- Champagne. I Looooove Champagne! I also learned, if you start the night out drinking Champagne, it's best to end the night drinking Champagne. Don't mix it with other types of drinks, it doesn't end well. If you are like me however, and have to figure this out the hard way, a bean rice and cheese burrito and a red bull are pretty much the cure to a hangover. _**

**_Aaaannnnnyways, all that fun stuff aside, here's what some of you have been waiting for! I hope you like it! _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, or Bruce Banner, Hydra, HAMMER, or SHIELD. I'm not making money, I'm just making people happy. Enjoy!_ **

* * *

Bruce Roberts sat in his room every day for lunch. Everyone knew that, he didn't go to the teachers' lounge, he didn't particularly care to socialize with most of the people around. Most people just brushed it off as a science teacher type of thing, even though the assistant principal always brought new teachers around to meet him.

Mr. Clorozzo was of the belief that Bruce needed to be friends with at least one teacher, he needed someone to be able to report back to him what it was the quiet chemistry teacher thought about, talked about and did with his spare time, but each person for it harder and harder to get through to him. Not that Mr. C gave up.

Bruce was sitting in his office chair, typing up the lesson plans to send to the principal when there was a knock on his door. He stood up and opened it, a woman who looked to be around twenty five was standing there looking embarrassed. "Hi," she smiled at him, "I um, I'm looking for the Chemistry one lab?"

"Right across the hall." he pointed to the door down the hall and across from his a little.

"Oh my gosh, thanks so much." she smiled.

"First day?" he joked and she shook her head.

"No- Well, kind of, it's my first day substituting." she sighed.

"Ah." he nodded.

"I went to the teacher's lounge for lunch, and, I don't know, this school is so different then the high school I want to." she followed him into his classroom, making him looked back at her with a little surprise. He figured she was just a substitute who wanted someone to talk to before lunch was over so he didn't say anything. "Nice classroom."

"It's just like yours." he shrugged.

"Oh, but you have a better view of the woods, mine is over the parking lot." she chuckled. "I'm Leona, Leona Hiss."

"Bruce Roberts." he shook her hand.

"You wouldn't believe some of the jokes the kids come up with." she sighed.

"Pretty obvious huh?" he asked with a small smile.

"I'd like to think I was a little more creative with insults when I was a high schooler." she sighed with a small laugh. "What about you Mr. Roberts?"

"I finished early." he nodded. "I was more focused on my studies than insulting teachers." he shrugged with a small smile.

"Is this your family?" she asked as she picked up a picture from his desk.

"Uh, yeah..." he said a little thrown off by her straight forwardness.

"Your wife is very pretty." she said as she ran her finger over Minnie's face. She looked up at him, the playfulness now replaced with a cold, calculating look. "Such a shame, what we were forced to do to her." she said, an accent slipping into her words. His face hardened as he looked at the woman, then he stood up, grabbing her, he swung her into the wall next to them.

"Who are you?" he asked and she looked up at him.

"I think you know."

"Hydra." he growled. "I swear, if you hurt my family-"

"What will you do? You couldn't do anything to protect them. What do you expect to accomplish by avenging them?" she practically purred. He backed away from her, letting go of her arms. She grinned as he stumbled back, to his desk, and turned away. "It is a shame though," she continued. "The little one really didn't need to see that. She is young enough though... I suppose, she could come to think of me as mother." she moved close to Bruce who was looking away.

He looked at her sharply, his eyes were bright green, his breathing was heavy as he groaned, screwing his eyes shut, and looking down with a grimace as his skin started to turn green. The woman, Leona Hiss, if that was her name, grinned sadistically as he grew in size and stature, tearing right through his clothes, his glasses fell off in a broken mess of metal and glass.

"Liar." he growled, his voice a mixture of his own and the Hulk's as he continued to finish the transformation.

"Your wife is dead." she said to him lowly. "Your daughter is with us." she grinned at the Hulk. I wonder about that young mutant girl as well. I supposed she could be an asset to us. It was so nice of you to put her with her own kind. We may even take a few of them. You can't protect them, just like you couldn't protect your family. And there's nothing you can do about it." He let out a piercing roar before moving towards her.

* * *

A month after Amanda had left for the school in New York I walked into the house, looking through the mail. Kayla was in the living room, coloring a picture while Dallas lay on the floor next to her on his side. "Don't even think about it." I said as she leaned over, a bright blue marker pointed towards Dallas' white stomach. She giggled and quickly turned back to the picture. I smiled seeing a letter from Amanda and opened it. "Amanda sent us a letter."

"Can I read it?"

"You can try." I said as she ran over. She tripped on the floor, but quickly picked herself back up. I picked her up and put her on the counter to sit. Bruce and I had taught Kayla baby sign language before she was able to talk, and with that came finger spelling, which in my belief was making it easier to teach her to read. "Here you go Pumpkin." I said and looked up as there was a knock on the door.

"Oh my god honey," Erin said as she walked into the house.

"What's wrong?" I asked noticing her troubled look.

"There's something at the school." she said and my heart dropped.

"Wha-What do you mean?"

"I mean there's _something_ at the school, it's like a- a- a _alien_ or something! They're evacuating everyone right now and calling in the SWAT team!"

"Oh shit." I said softly. "Oh shit, oh god." I put my hand to my forehead, I couldn't believe it. "Uh, I- I need to get there." I looked at Kayla who was looking at me with a worried look on her face.

"Mommy?"

"Baby, please, stay here with Erin," I looked at Erin and she nodded.

"Go, it's fine, I'll watch her." she said and I nodded as I went to the garage.

"Jarvis, open the emergency locker." I said and the emergency door opened. I pulled a backpack I had put in there put and threw it into the car next to me.

I got into the car and drove towards the school, rather than going to the front of the school I drove around to the woods in the back. I could see the school had been evacuated to the front and parents were freaking out trying to find their kids. The police were around the front, and hopelessly outnumbered.

If he wanted to, Bruce- The Hulk, could take them all down without an effort. I moved across the back parking lot and moved into the back of the school. It was quiet, quieter than I would have expected, and then- There was a loud shout, one I hadn't heard in a long time. I ran towards it, unlike anything any sane person would normally do.

I could hear shouts, and someone screaming in a language I didn't know. They repeated it a few times, and then I heard people running. I ducked down a hallway and frowned as a group of five or six people went running down the hall, away from me, a woman with long black hair was leading them, she didn't look away, and she just kept running.

I turned and ran in the direction that they had come from; the evidence of a struggle was evident. I moved around, trying not to trip over the things on the ground, before I heard heavy breathing coming from a room to my left. I went to the room and found myself in the school gym. A large lumbering figure was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. I could see green blood dripping down his left arm as I moved around him slowly.

"Hulk," I said softly and he looked up quickly, his green eyes focused on me and I moved forward slowly. "Honey." I moved forward.

"They Kill you." he said and I shook my head.

"No honey, I'm fine." I said softly as I moved closer to him. I gently cupped his large green face. "What happened?" my eyes flickered to his arm, he looked at it and his face darkened. "Hey, hey, Hulk, look at me." I said softly. "Look at me." he looked at me. "It's okay. You need to turn back."

"Makayla, okay?" he asked and I nodded.

"Makayla's fine." I said "We're both fine, she's with Erin." I said as I smoothed my hand over his cheek. "But, we need you. We need you to come back to us." I said. The Hulk lifted his large hand and moved it towards me, I smiled as he shrank down to his normal size, his hand cupped my face as I stared at him. He pulled me in and kissed me deeply.

"I- I thought-"

"Don't worry about me." I said softly. "Don't worry." I handed him the bag and he shook his head with a small sigh. I kissed him quickly and he quickly pulled on the clothes.

"I- they told me they-"

"I know." I said softly. "But I think we have a bigger problem." I looked to his arm, and he followed my gaze.

"No... No, they…." he groaned, shutting his eyes. They opened again and I stepped forward when I noticed them turning green.

"Honey, don't. Don't, we need you right now. SHIELD needs you, the Avengers are going to need you, and your family needs you. There's a whole mess of SWAT members ready to take you out, right outside, and I know you could easily take them all on, but I'd rather we get home, and try to figure something out. He took my hand and started to pull me toward the front of the school.

"No, this way." I said as I pulled him to the back. I grabbed a handful of paper towels from the kitchen and handed them to him. He shoved them up the sleeve of his shirt, and then led me out of the school. "I parked in the woods." I said as I grabbed his hand again.

"Stop!" a voice shouted and we both turned quickly. It was Aaron, our neighbor, and the deputy Sherriff in Nadine. "Jesus you two." he sighed as he lowered his gun.

"Thank god you're here." Bruce said suddenly and Aaron looked at him. "I think I heard them in the school Gym, they were saying something about using the tunnel out of the school under the stage to get to the other side of the school while you went in from the front."

"Okay." Aaron said and then looked at me. "Emily, don't be so reckless." he said as he shook his head before leading a team of officers into the school. We went to the woods and got in the car.

"What do we do?" I asked softly as he started the car up. We drove away from the area, circling around before we went home. "Bruce, what do we do?"

"I don't know." he said in frustration. "We get in touch with SHIELD."

"They haven't been able to stop them yet honey, what are they going to do now?" I asked in frustration.

"They'll keep you safe." he said as he looked over at me. "I'm having them reinstate me."

When we got to the house he told Erin a story about how I found him in the parking lot, and he didn't know what was going on at the school, but that everyone was ordered to go home and lock up. Erin left and he went to the central computer.

"Jarvis, activate lock down." he said as he typed on the computer.

"Dr. Banner, is everything alright?"

"No Jarvis, it's not." he said. The sound of moving metal made me jump, and nearly sent Kayla into a fit as metal shutters slid over the windows.

"What the hell?" I asked as I picked Kayla up. "When did those-"

"It is a SHIELD safe house." he said and I nodded, Kayla clung to me and Dallas barked at the window closest to him before he tore across the house, barking at all of them.

"Shh," I whispered to Kayla as she hugged me tightly. "Shh, it's okay."

"I want Bo-Bo." she whined. I went to her room with her and got her the bright green blanket she had named Bo-Bo. I brought her back downstairs as Bruce talked in the phone for a moment. He hung up and looked at me.

"Honey, what's going on?" I asked.

"Call Amanda." he said. "They're sending someone to pick her up."

"And us?" I asked and he moved over to me.

"Welcome back to SHIELD Mrs. Banner." he said softly, before he turned and walked away, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt to address his cut.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey ya'll! Today I'd like to dedicate this chapter to one of my most loyal readers, LittleMissMia123, your energetic and passionate reviews inspire me to keep writing. I love all reviews, but yours make it clear you're really invested in what's going on, and as a writer, that means a lot. So, LittleMissMia123, this chapter is for you. I hope you like it. I hope everyone likes it! **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie and Kayla. I'm not making any money writing this, I'm just making people happy. At least, I think I am... I hope I am.** _

* * *

Tony Stark was in his office when the door opened. In walked Norman Osborn, well, more like in sauntered Norman Osborn. Tony leaned back in his chair with a look of semi amusement and some annoyance as the man walked in, and made himself at home, sitting at the seat across from him. "Comfortable?" Tony asked dryly.

"I'll be a lot more comfortable when I've got what I come for." Norman said.

"There's a gift shop in the lobby." Tony nodded and Norman rolled his eyes.

"Information, Mr. Stark." Osborn sighed. "About the locations of every known hero."

"Well you don't waste any time do you?"

"Time is money Stark, something you should know very well about."

"Well, more than you obviously." Tony said.

"The names, Stark." Osborn said and Tony sat there and stared at him for a moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tony said finally.

"Don't pull that with me." Osborn said dangerously.

I thought I was giving it to you." Tony grinned. "Here's a hero, isn't that good enough for you?" he held his arms out.

"Tony, have you heard of the Fifty State Initiative."

"All parties are created equal?" he asked and Osborn smirked lightly.

"The purpose of the Fifty State Initiative is to help everyone. By collecting all of the information and locations of known superheroes, we would be able to create teams, like the Avengers, for each state. Sure, we would put everyone through training; see who fits together and who doesn't."

"Train us to your H.A.M.M.E.R. preconceived notions of how we should fight and act." Tony continued. "Tell me, will we learn the perfect way to goose step too?" he asked looking interested.

"The information Tony. I know you're working on a database of all the known heroes."

"Well yeah, Pepper's gotta know where to send the dinner party invitations." he shrugged. "But if I was working on this type of database, do you really think I'd just hand it over to you?" he asked as he stood up and poured himself a drink. He looked back at Osborn. "I mean, you haven't exactly got the best reputation."

"And yours is crystal clear?"

"Yeah I thought you'd say that. Let's consider, for a moment. I saved an entire village from mindless and senseless slaughter, brought the longest war free period of peace to the world, and saved the world again, when we were invaded by a Demi-God, and a ton of aliens. You get into constant squabbles with a teenager with an affinity for spandex and killed the love of his life who also happened to be the mother of your children, because of a shady affair." Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Allegedly." Osborn added and Tony nodded as he returned to his desk and sat down.

"Allegedly." he agreed. "So tell me, how did you convince the summit you were the right guy to head H.A.M.M.E.R.? What does H.A.M.M.E.R. even stand for?"

"Sorry Stark, that's a need to know basis."

"Oh please, the suspense is killing me." Tony said and Osborn rolled his eyes.

"They picked me, because through the alleged past. They are aware of one thing. I'm the best. Plain and simple."

"So modest too." Tony grinned. The door opened and Pepper walked in looking annoyed.

"Mr. Osborn, you don't have an appointment and Tony does." she said making Norman look at Tony.

"That list."

"What list?" Tony asked innocently. Anger flashed in Norman's eyes as Pepper glared at him.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to make an appointment with the front desk if you'd like to see Tony again, they'll validate your parking as well. Have a good day." she said and he stood up.

"Tony, that list." he said as he stepped towards the desk. Tony jumped up and strolled over to him.

"Fraid I don't know what you're talking about; and even if I did, I would do everything in my power to make sure you never see it." he said lowly. The two powerful men glared at each other before Tony's eyes flickered to the door. He turned and walked over to Pepper and sat at his desk. "As you can see, I'm very busy and important. Have a good drive back to wherever you're going." he grinned before Osborn walked out of the office in a huff.

"Shelby," Pepper said into the intercom. "If Norman Osborn tries to make an appointment, tell him the next available one is in September."

"But that's in six months!" Shelby said sounding shocked.

"Yeah Shelby, that's the point." Pepper said. "Oh- and Shelby? Don't write it down." Pepper ordered before turning off the intercom.

"I love it when you get all devious." Tony grinned. Pepper smiled and leaned down to kiss him before she pulled back.

"Call Phil."

"For once, I'll agree with you on that one." he said.

Two days later the program was destroyed. Tony went through every measure to ensure that the technology could never be repaired, they could never salvage what information he had written, and that they would never know the location of the heroes. He then made sure to burn every file, to take everything out of every system SHIELD had, Fury had given him full access to it, and for once he wasn't going to snoop around and be his usual Tony Stark self, this was bigger than them.

Two days past that The Hulk had an incident and they were being brought back in. Tony was typing furiously, working on unwriting the last bits of information when Phil Coulson walked into the room. "We're going to Maine to pick up Dr. Banner and Minnie." he informed Tony who looked up.

"What happened? Someone let the green guy out of the cage?"

"Her name is Madame Hydra. We think she's working with H.A.M.M.E.R. she got his DNA."

"How is that possible?" Tony turned around.

"We're not alone in the universe Tony. You should know that all too well." Phil said and Tony nodded. "There's nothing on Earth that could hurt the Hulk, but out there? Who knows? Who knows what they've got their hands on, all I know is; the shit is going to hit the fan. Do you want to come to Maine?"

"No, I uh, I've just got to finish this." he said gesturing to the computer.

"Well when you're done, go to this address, and pick up a girl named Amanda Sorrenson. She'll be waiting." Phil said as he handed Tony and folded piece of paper.

"Who is she?"

"A friend of Minnie's, and someone who we're going to need."

"What about Agent Bluefox?"

"She's been briefed." Phil said and Tony nodded. "Don't forget Amanda." he ordered before he left, leaving Tony to finish deleting information. When he was satisfied he was finished he got into his car, and looked at the address Phil had given him.

"Jarvis map the route to Xavier's school for gifted youngsters." he said and the AI did just that, pulling it up on his screen.

When Tony got to the school he stopped at the gate and looked around for an intercom or something. He opened the door to his car and stepped out, just as the gates opened. He shrugged, got back into the car and drove down the long driveway. He could see kids everywhere, talking, hanging out, playing sports. He got out of the car after parking and looked at the paper from Phil again.

"Hey, Princess," he said to a young girl who was walking out of the school. She turned and looked him over. "Where can I find Amanda Sorrenson?" he asked.

"In the library." she said before walking away. He walked into the school and looked around for a moment before he shrugged and walked over to a set of stairs.

"Can I help you?" a gruff voice asked. Tony turned around and found himself face to face with a large, mutton chop wearing, cigar chewing, grizzly bear of a man.

"Yeah, looking for Amanda Sorrenson, seen her?"

"You her father?"

"Not that I know of, but with my past, who knows." Tony shrugged. "Tony Stark, I'm here to pick her up."

"Under who's orders?"

"SHIELD's, actually." Tony said. "So, what are you supposed to be? Ballet teacher?" he asked and the large man took another step.

"Logan, leave him alone." a female voice said. They both turned to see a dark skinned woman with white hair walking over. "Mr. Stark, I'm Ororo Munroe. Amanda is waiting just down the hall."

"Now was that so hard?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of Logan's.

"_SHIELD_, Storm?" Logan asked.

"Amanda is under SHIELD's care, Logan." she said. "And if they feel like pulling her out of school, what can we do about it?"

"Uh, actually, they're not pulling her out of school to piss you off, _Tiny._" Tony said. "They're doing it to protect the school."

"We can protect ourselves." Logan growled.

"Yeah, I bet you can. And SHIELD can protect Amanda." he continued. Amanda walked down the hallways with another woman with red hair; she looked at Tony, and found herself gaping for a moment.

"You're the SHIELD operative coming to pick me up?"

"I hate the word operative makes me feel like I'm working for them. I prefer consultant."

"You're Emily's friend?"

"Oh boy kiddo, do we have a lot to talk about." he smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here before this lumberjack decides to take a swing." he said walking over to Amanda. "Got your bags?" she nodded. "Good." he said, and led her out to the car. She put her bags in the trunk and thanked everyone before she got into the car. "So, tell me kiddo," Tony said as he started the car. "What do you know about the Avengers?"

* * *

I had managed to calm Kayla down as I packed her clothes into a duffle bag. I finished getting everything she needed, and moved to mine and Bruce's room with her following closely. Bruce was in there, throwing things into a suitcase, looking aggravated. "Kayla baby, go find mommy's sunglasses."

"Okay." she said in a small voice and left the room. I walked over to Bruce and put my hand on his shoulder. He stopped packing and just stood there as I leaned in and lightly kissed his jaw. I stepped around him so I was standing in front of him, trailing soft kisses as I did, until I lightly kissed his chin.

"Everything is going to be okay Bruce." I said softly.

"I just- I can't even keep you safe." he groaned.

"Hey, no one's attacked me in almost four years. I think you've gone a pretty damn good job at keeping me safe." I said gently. "At keeping both of us safe. That little girl downstairs? You're her entire world. She adores you. I adore you. You're my entire world, you have been since I met you." he smiled lightly and wrapped his arm around my waist. "I've never felt safer than when I'm with you, so don't you say you can't keep us safe. There's only one of you and god knows how many of them, so for it to take them close to four years to find us, it means you're doing something right." I said and he smiled.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not." I said. "And you shouldn't be either. Look at it this way. They're public now. SHIELD will find them, and we won't have to be in hiding anymore." I smiled.

"Just when I was getting used to the name Roberts." he said and I laughed. "I never got used to calling you Emily."

"I never got used to hearing it."

"So we're agreed?" he asked and I nodded.

"When have we not been?" I asked and he smiled.

"God, did I- Do the right thing?" he asked turning away from me.

"Bruce, what's done is done. Don't worry about the past, focus on the future. Because out there is your DNA, and if those bastards can use it against us, Harlem will look like frolicking in the flowers, compared to what can happen. No one has your control; no one knows how to focus him, no one but you." I said and he smiled lightly as he looked at me.

"You know he only answers to you." he said and I laughed.

"He doesn't answer to anyone." I said as I cupped his cheek lightly. I ran my thumb across the slight stubble growing on his cheek, feeing the roughness on my skin. "But he seems to like me."

"He's not the only one." he said.

"Oh good, now maybe you'll listen to me and stop beating yourself up. Finish packing." I said and moved away from him. He smiled and I went to the closet as Kayla ran into the room holding my sunglasses. "What took you so long?" I asked.

"Jarvis told me where you hid the cookies." she said and I noticed the chocolate stains on her face.

"Jarvis." I said looking at the ceiling.

"I haven't the slightest idea what she's talking about Mrs. Banner." Jarvis said innocently. I rolled my eyes with a sigh and picked her up. I put her on the bed and started packing for myself. Kayla ran around on the bed between my suitcase and Bruce's, trying to help, until we heard a knock on the door. "It's Agent Coulson, Dr. Banner." Jarvis said, and Bruce nodded before he went downstairs. A few moments later two SHIELD agents came upstairs.

"Mrs. Banner, we'll take over from here." one of the agents said.

"Thank you." I said as I picked Kayla up, and carried her downstairs. She started wailing and freaking out when we got outside, I was surprised to see a large SHIELD helicoptor in the middle of the Cul-de-_sac__,_ still running.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked as he ran over to us.

"Mommy Forgot Dallas!" she sobbed and I shook my head.

"No Sweetie, it's okay, he'll be fine!" I said as I moved to the helicopter. Coulson was in the back; he helped lift Kayla out of my arms and put her into a seat while Bruce took my hand and helped me into the helicopter. I could see our neighbors watching up curiously as we got in, he followed and I strapped myself into the seat next to Kayla, trying to soothe her sobs as we took off.

"It's alright Kayla," Bruce said leaning forward. He was sitting right across from us. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise." he said as she continued to cry. He looked at me and I smiled hopefully. "I promise." he said to me and I turned my attention back to Kayla who was still freaking out, now it was due to the noise.

Phil got her a pair of headphones that were too big for her, but with some adjusting and improvising, she soon quieted down, her thumb was shoved in her mouth and she still let out the occasional sob or sniffle.

"Daddy?" she asked when the helicopter got us to SHIELD's New York HQ.

"Yeah baby?" he asked as he helped unbuckle her.

"Why does Jarvis call you Dr. Banner?"

"Because it's my name."

"Are you a doctor Daddy?"

"I'm a scientist."

"Why is my name Makayla Roberts?"

"It's not, it's Makayla Banner." he said as he picked her up, Phil helped me unbuckle the helicopter straps on my seat and we climbed out, and Bruce carried her out. Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff were waiting by the doorway as we walked over.

"Mrs. Banner," she smiled at me and I smiled before I hugged her tightly. She hugged be back, and then looked at Bruce. "Dr. Banner." she said to him, and then looked to Kayla. "She's beautiful." she looked at me and I smiled. "Minnie I'm-"

"Don't apologize again Nat." I said holding my hands up. "Let's go inside, I'm sure you guys have a lot to brief us on." I looked at Director Fury who nodded.

"After you, Agent Banner." he said, opening the door. I smiled lightly as Bruce, Kayla and I walked through followed by Natasha, Phil and Director Fury.

At that moment I could honestly say, it felt good to be home.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey ya'll! Sorry it took me a little while to update, I got a little case of... Well, I don't want to say writer's block, it was more like... Writer's... Sneeze? Sure, let's go with that. Anyways, I saw the new Spiderman last night, and then I went home and had a dream about the Avengers, which inspired me again (Thank Odin!). So, here it is, chapter seven. Some crazy stuff is going to be happening in the future, but in the mean time, I hope you like this.

* * *

"Minnie!" Pepper squealed running into the room I was sitting in. I jumped up and threw my arms around her and hugged her tightly as we both started talking at the same time. Tony walked in behind her, giving me and Pepper a blank look, as did Bruce, who, I had to admit, looked slightly amused.

"Why's Pepper call Mommy Minnie?" Kayla asked.

"It's a nickname." Bruce explained. "Like when we call you Kayla instead of _Ma_kayla."

"Okay." she said and then smiled at Pepper who walked over to her. "Hi Pepper!" she said and Pepper smiled.

"Hi Pretty Girl." Pepper smiled before giving Kayla a hug.

"She's shorter in person." Tony said and I looked up at him.

"She's _three_." I said and he shrugged.

"I guess she is related to you."

"I've got the stretch marks to prove it."

"No you don't." Bruce said, probably out of instinct.

"You do not!" Pepper gasped and I shook my head.

"I'm pretty sure I have at least one, somewhere." I sighed and she looked at Bruce who shook his head.

"What's that?" Kayla asked as Tony walked over and ruffled her hair. She was staring at his chest. I bit my lip and looked at Tony who looked at me, then back at Kayla.

"Tony, you don't have to." I said quickly as he loosened his tie.

"Kid's curious." he said simply as he unbuttoned his shirt.

"Why's that in you?" she asked as she looked at his mini arc reactor in awe.

"Before you were born, I was hurt really bad. This thing, saved my life." he said as he tapped it.

"Can I touch it?"

"No." Bruce said.

"_Sure_." Tony said at the same time. "It won't hurt her." he looked at Bruce, then at me. Kayla lightly poked it, the blue light reflecting off her eyes that were wide in wonder.

"Cool." she said and I laughed. "How did you get hurt?"

"Enough." Bruce stood up and walked over to Kayla. "No more questions right now." he said and she pouted, until she saw a familiar person in the doorway.

"Amanda!" she said and climbed off her chair to run to the strawberry blond haired teenager. Amanda grinned and picked Kayla up and hugged her tightly. "I missed you, did you miss me?" she asked and Amanda nodded.

"Of course I did." Amanda said as she hugged Kayla tightly. She walked into the room and looked at Bruce. "Mr. Rob- Uh, Dr. Banner," she smiled and looked at me. "Minnie."

"It's good to see you Sweetheart." I said as I walked over and hugged her. Bruce walked over and took Kayla from her, freeing her arms to hug me back.

"How was the school?" Bruce asked.

"It was amazing." she sighed. "I didn't think there were people like me, I mean, I knew there was, because of the news and stuff, but, I don't think you really understand that people who understand you exist until you meet them." she smiled.

"Meet any boys?" I teased and she blushed. "Oh you did! What's his name?" I asked with a grin and she grinned.

"Amanda, tell her you're kidding, you're too young to be chasing guys." Bruce said making me; Pepper and her roll our eyes.

"Tell us about him, what's his power?" Pepper asked with a grin.

"Okay, his name is Piotr, he's 19, and he's really, really cute." she grinned and Tony opened his mouth.

"Don't." Pepper said holding up a finger to silence him. He shut his mouth and looked at Bruce who shook his head with a sigh.

"What's his power?" I asked and she sighed.

"He turns to steel. Like, literally, he turns into metal, it's so crazy! And he's like really really, really strong, and really tall too. I mean like, crazy tall!"

"You have like, _got_ to be kidding me." Tony mumbled.

"Totally." Bruce mumbled back. The three of us ignored him and continued to talk about Amanda's new friend before Phil walked in.

"Thor is on his way back, as is Steve, and Barton should be here any minute. There are cars waiting downstairs for you all."

We went downstairs and I smiled seeing Happy. I hugged him and he laughed before letting go of me. "Good to see you again Min." he said and I smiled.

"Good to see you too Happy." I said.

"Hey, you're riding with Pepper and the kid, Bruce is riding with me." Tony said as Bruce handed Kayla to me.

"That's fine Tony. Are we going to the tower or the mansion?"

"Mansion." he said.

"We're going to a mansion?" Amanda asked as she followed Pepper and me.

"Oh honey, you're going to love it." Pepper smiled as she got into the front seat with Happy. They had even put a car seat into the back. I got Kayla strapped in and she talked nonstop to the mansion.

"Why's your name Happy?"

"Because I don't like the name Harold."

"What's that building?"

"The Empire State Building."

"Who works there?"

"Lots of people."

"How tall is it?"

"You know, I don't really know."

"Why not?"

"Because I've never asked."

"Why?"

"Never occurred to me to ask."

"Do you live there?"

"No, nobody lives there." he chuckled and I looked at Amanda who was biting her knuckle to keep from laughing.

"Kayla, enough bugging Happy, he's got to drive."

"Aw, she's fine." Happy said and I smiled at him.

"Could the president live there?"

"The president lives in Washington D.C."

"But if he wanted to live there, would they let him?"

"I don't think so."

"But he's the president."

"That doesn't mean he gets to do whatever he wants."

"Yes it does!" she insisted. "At Ms. Molly's, Stevie Monroe says that the president gets to do whatever he wants."

"Sweetheart, Stevie Monroe also said that there's a clown who lives under your bed." I pointed out and she pouted.

"Didn't that happen in a movie once?" Happy frowned.

"Poltergeist!" Amanda said with a grin. "I love that movie!"

"Can I watch that?"

"No." I shook my head. Pepper laughed and Amanda grinned.

"You know that scene in the pool was-"

"Enough." I said and she laughed as Kayla looked at us curiously.

"Happy?"

"Yes?"

"Does anyone live in that building?"

"No Kayla."

"Why not?"

"Because it's the post office."

* * *

"Tony what you're talking about doing-"

"If we can figure out how to do it right, there should be no issues."

"You're taking to a guy who turned himself into, in your words, an enormous green rage machine. Figuring out how not to hurt myself isn't exactly what I do." Bruce sighed.

"You're a part of this, they tracked you down, and they threatened your family. I would think you'd be on board to help with the situation."

"The situation is, they don't know what you know, they don't know if you've got photographic memory, or if you remember all of it."

"They'll have ways of figuring it out, and you know that Bruce." Tony said, and looked at his friend. "It's not just for us, for the Avengers. It's for everyone." he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. "When they find out what I've done, they'll come for me. For Pepper and Happy too. I want you to take them and get out of here." he looked at Bruce.

"You said it yourself I haven't exactly been the best at disappearing."

"Agent Bluefox will help you guys."

"Who?"

"Your caseworker." Tony waved his hand. "She's pretty good at blending in and disappearing. She's been doing it since the beginning."

"Of what?"

"SHIELD." Tony answered. "You've got good friends on your side. If need be, I can probably convince Thor to take you to Arsgard."

"I don't- Would it come to that?" Bruce asked and Tony looked at him. "How big is this?"

"The SRA passed, everyone registered, with the promise that it would be kept confidential. Now they're trying to mold us into teams, to train us to their advantage. They need the information, they need to know who's who; and I have it. All of it. Right here." he tapped his finger against his temple. "Help me get rid of it." he said. "And help me protect the world from itself." Bruce let out a sigh, before he nodded.

"We're going to need some extra help though."

"Yeah, I've got Erik Selvig coming in on this too." he said.

"Okay." he nodded. "When do we start?"

"Selvig comes into town in a few days. We start then." Tony said as they reached the mansion. He punched in a code and pressed his thumbprint to the little scanner and the gate opened. They pulled into the underground garage and got out of the car.

"Welcome home Sir, and Dr. Banner, might I say it's good to see you're unharmed."

"Thanks Jarvis." Bruce said, and then looked at Tony. "So how do you want to do this?"

"Well any way that doesn't involve me reenacting that scene from Hannibal would be nice." he shrugged. Bruce rolled his eyes with a small smile and nodded as he followed Tony who was walking to the stairs. They went upstairs and Tony went to the bar and poured himself a drink. "How's your supply holding up?" he asked as he took a drink.

"Running low." Bruce said and Tony grinned.

"You... Green Dog." he shook his head and Bruce chuckled.

"It's almost your anniversary, how are you and Pepper doing?"

"We're good." Tony nodded.

"No little super genius toddlers running around and reprogramming Jarvis yet?" he asked.

"No, no... I- uh, kids, you know?" Tony looked uncomfortable. "They'd probably end up like me."

"Tony, no one could end up like you." Bruce said and Tony grinned.

"Well, I've done a pretty good job of making sure of that, haven't I?" he asked as he tapped his reactor.

"I meant Iron Man."

"Oh yeah, that." he said and nodded.

"You're not freaked out about doing this?"

"Of course I am." Tony said, before pouring himself another drink. "Have one."

"I don't drink."

"Well, give yourself a shot, because you do today." Tony said as he poured a measure of scotch. Bruce sighed and plunged the tip of his EpiPen into his leg before he picked up the scotch and took a sip. "Happy once told me a story about this boxer who had to have everything done for him. I mean, the guy was practically Stephen Hawking, but without the brain." he took another drink of his scotch. "The guy was hit in the head too hard and one too many times."

"Tony we're not going to let that happen to you." Bruce promised.

"Yeah." he chuckled, before they heard everyone else coming upstairs. "Oh, and uh, Pepper doesn't know, so it'd be best if you didn't mention it to... Anyone." he said and then looked at the doorway as everyone came in. He walked over to Pepper and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leaning in to kiss her. Bruce stared at his friend for a moment, before he threw back the rest of the scotch, and then walked over to Minnie who was talking to Kayla who was looking around very excitedly.

"Hey," he smiled and Minnie grinned at him before she kissed his deeply.

"I know we're supposed to be scared and everything right now," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "But it's really hard when it's so good to be back." she said and he smiled lightly.

There was no use in worrying her.

Not now.

He kissed the top of her head, his own head swimming with the ideas and possibilities about what he and Tony had discussed.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey ya'll! Here's chapter eight! Also, I'd like to say thank you to the guest who commented without a username mentioning the idea of helping my writer's... Allergies (I refuse to say writer's block) by writing Avengers one shots. You now have a few one shots to look forward to, but I've not finished editing them and polishing them up yet. When I finish that, then you get them. In the meantime, you do get chapter eight which is the reunion chapter. "Together again! Gee it's good to be together again!"- Ahem. Sorry. I'm addicted to the Muppets, what can I say? In the next chapter you get to find out some of what's going on with HYDRA and HAMMER, but for this chapter, I've brought back a fan favorite (Well, two actually)- Da da da da... Dallas! Woo, Dallas! (Does anyone actually even read these memos?) Also, anyone remember Minnie's words of wisdom about who not to start a pillow fight with? That's right, Thor is back! And very adorable. I could see him being really good with children. They're practically on the same wavelength. Well, anyways, enough of me just writing. This could probably be considered a stream of consciousness. Enjoy! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from movies or comic books. I'm making no money, I'm just a fan making other fans happy (Hopefully). I hope you enjoy!** _

* * *

Phil had been right when he said the remaining members of the Avengers were coming and coming soon. Barton arrived at the mansion first, Natasha had arrived a few minutes after Happy and the girls had gotten there. After Natasha and Barton were together Natasha seemed to calm down a little. We decided to grill up some food, Tony sent Happy out to pick up groceries. While he was gone Kayla found the large back yard, and instantly fell in love with the space. I was drinking a glass of white wine when the back door opened. "_**Minnie!**_"

"Dallas!" I shrieked, spilling most of the wine from my glass as I shoved it at Pepper who laughed. I jumped into Dallas' arms and he caught me, spinning me in a circle, then losing balance fell down.

"Oh god, I don't even care." he said as I tried to help him up. He pulled me back down and clung to me, I could hear Pepper and Bruce laughing as we both lay there. "Tell me you'll _never_ leave me again."

"I will _never_ leave you again." I said and he hugged me tighter.

"Okay, I'm done, get up." he ordered. I laughed and let go of him and we both got up. I could see Kayla staring at us curiously. "Look at you, oh my god!" he said as he looked me over. "God, you haven't gained a pound!" he pinched my waist making me yelp.

"I'd like to see you try to do that." Tony muttered to Bruce who scoffed.

"Yeah right." he muttered back. "Try doing that to Pepper." Tony snorted and the two shared a small smile.

"Mommy?" Kayla asked as she walked over.

"Oh my god, she's a doll!" he squealed. I picked her up and he cupped her face. "You are just so adorable!" he said. "You know that don't you?"

"Yes." she said and I laughed.

"Kayla." I said and she looked at me.

"He said it Mommy." she said and I rolled my eyes.

"Sweetie, this is my best friend in the whole world." I said and Dallas smiled. "This is Dallas."

"Like our doggy?"

"You named a dog after me?" he asked looking at me.

"It was Bruce's idea." I said pointing at him.

"What color dog?"

"White."

"Like your hair." Kayla said as she reached up and touched his hair.

"What kind of dog?" he asked.

"Cocker Spaniel." he paused and then nodded.

"Yeah okay, I could see that." he said and then looked at Kayla. "I'm going to spoil you rotten, you know that?" he asked and she grinned.

"Dallas-"

"He's her fairy godfather Bruce, I decided that a long time before she was born." I said as Dallas looked over at Bruce.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you _Love Bug_!" Dallas said before he went over and hugged Bruce tightly. Okay, good to see you too." Bruce said as he patted Dallas' back.

"I'm back." Happy said holding up armloads of groceries. "Oh, hey Dallas."

"Hi cutie." Dallas winked at Happy who blushed. I laughed, and pried Dallas off of Bruce, I handed Kayla to him, and Dallas wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leading me to Pepper.

"Your hair got longer." I said as I tousled his shaggy white blonde hair.

"I haven't cut it since you left Me." he sighed dramatically.

"Lies." I said and he grinned.

"Okay I've totally cut it since you left me, but, now, baby, _what_ is going on with _your _hair?" he asked as he took a handful of my hair in his hand. "I mean, we're going to have to call Juan and get you an appointment, like, tomorrow." he said as he fingered the ends of my hair.

"Don't _even_ get me started, the town we were in was freaking Pleasantville, without a decent hairdresser, the woman had no idea what she was doing." I rolled my eyes. "I had dreams about Juan and his scissors."

"You mean Mrs. Hope?" Amanda asked from where she was sitting, drinking a Coke.

"Pepper did you adopt a child?" he asked.

"No, she belongs to Minnie." she shook her head.

"Okay, number one, you're adorable, and number two, men cut hair better." he shook his head. "Everyone knows that." he looked at Amanda's hair. "You're getting an appointment too."

"Oh sure, and when I brought it up, everyone stared at me like I was some sort of communist enabling wannabe Unabomber." I said and he shook his head before he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Oh, hey, I love this nail color." I said as I took his hand and looked at the nail polish he was wearing.

"Oh, cool, remember Diego?"

"Diego...?"

"That little bi boy Bruce believed you bumped."

"Try saying that five times fast." Natasha said to Amanda who grinned and I laughed.

"What about him?" I asked.

"His sister works for MAC." he said. "Like, cooperate, so she gives boxes of this stuff to Felipe, who gives it to me, and I put it in a closet of stuff I've been holding onto, so I can get it to you when you get home." he said. I laughed lightly and he nodded. "Oh, and, by the way. I got you an apartment."

"You _What_!" I asked and he threw his arms up.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? SHIELD burnt down your old one! Oh, speaking of which, total shame, your parents went there, it was rough." he shook his head.

"Yeah, it was pretty hard on them. Thank god you didn't tell them about the baby." Pepper sighed.

"And actually, I didn't so much buy the apartment for you as I just told Felipe not to rent it out." he shrugged. "Because he owns a bunch of apartments in this building on the upper west side, and we live in the penthouse, so there's this adorable apartment beneath us, and I just knew it was perfect." he said as he clasped his hands together. "Don't hate me, say you'll at least look at it!" he pleaded. "It's two stories and it has these gorgeous hardwood floors, and you're going to love it."

"You really were sure I was coming home, weren't you?" I asked and he smiled.

"Well Duh!" he said throwing his hands in the air.

"Minnie!" a familiar voice said and a moment later I was pulled into a very familiar bone crushing, rib dislocating hug.

"Thor, it's good to see you too." I groaned before he put me down.

"Your family has flourished." he said as he looked from me to Bruce, and Kayla who was running from person to person. "By the powers of my father, is this your child?" he asked and I nodded. Bruce walked over and shook Thor's hand, and winced as Thor gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"Your daughter has grown!" he said as he gestured to Mykala. "She will soon be as tall as Yggdrasill!"

"Uh, thanks." Bruce smiled. Thor bent down and picked her up.

"What is your name, daughter of Banner?" he asked and she looked at him with wide, curious eyes.

"My name is Makayla Antonia Roberts, except my Daddy says it's Makayla Antonia Banner, but my Mommy and Daddy call me Kayla." she said. "What's your name?"

"I am Thor Odinson." he said. "God of Thunder."

"My Mommy told me about you!" she said getting excited. "She says when there's thunder that I shouldn't be scared because it's just you coming to Earth." she said. "Except Stevie Monroe in Ms. Molly class says that there's no such things as gods, and that Mommy's going to hell." she said and nodded.

"What? When did he say that?" Bruce asked moving to Kayla. He looked at me with a frown and I rolled my eyes. "Did you know that kid was saying things like that?" he asked.

"Ophelia Monroe is an impossible woman." I shook my head.

"This young man sounds like the son of a Bilchsteim." Thor said and Kayla nodded.

"Exactly!" she said sounding relieved. "That's what I said!" She shook her head and I laughed.

"Thor, we're doing your favorite thing." Barton said walking over. "Firing up the grill."

"Have any others offered to prepare our feast upon the grill?" he asked and Barton shook his head.

"No, it's all yours man." he said.

"Come My-Kayla!" Thor said, holding her in one arm. "We shall prepare the feast!"

"I think Kayla just made a new best friend." Bruce said crossing his arms as Thor took her over to the barbeque.

"Are you kidding, it'd take a three year old to understand him sometimes." I shook my head. Bruce laughed, and then kissed me. "Are you happy?" I asked, cupping his face. I loved the feeling of his unshaven stubble under my fingers.

"We're surrounded by the greatest heroes in the nine realms," he said. "You and Makayla-"

"No Honey, My-Kayla, remember?" I asked and he grinned.

"You two are the safest women in the world right now." he said. "I couldn't be happier." I laughed and then kissed him again.

"Get a room!" Dallas shouted and I grinned, pulling back from Bruce.

"Only when you get me the keys." I said and he laughed. "Oh, by the way, Dallas got us an apartment." I said making Bruce stand there for a minute.

"Remember how I wasn't sure about how I felt about Dallas knowing your underwear size?" he asked and I nodded slowly. "I'm getting that feeling again."

"Oh come on Bruce," I said as I wrapped my arms around his middle. I rested my chin on his chest as I looked up at him. I lightly kissed his chin. "Tell me we can at least _look_ at it." I pleaded. He smiled and I kissed him again. "_Please?_" I pleaded, before I kissed down across his Adam's apple, and lower, closer to his collarbone.

"Okay, okay." he said quickly. "We can go _look_ at it. _Tomorrow_." he said pointedly.

"Thank you baby." I smiled and kissed him deeply. He groaned into the kiss, either because he was getting into it, or because he knew he just lost the argument about the apartment, and would most likely be moving in the next day. I think it was more the second one.

"Way to hold your ground man." Tony said after I went back to Dallas and Bruce looked at him pointedly.

"Like Pepper's never won an argument that way before."

"I know Nat has." Barton muttered as he tipped his beer bottle back, drinking some of it.

"Huh, you and Window, never woulda guessed." Tony said sarcastically.

About twenty minutes later Steve Rogers walked through the house holding a tray of raw meat. "Thor, Happy asked me to give this to you..." he said and Thor turned around, Kayla was hanging off of one of his arms like a monkey.

"My-Kayla, the feast has arrived!"

"Yaay!" she said letting go of his arm. She landed on the ground with an 'oof'. She ran over to Steve and threw her arms around his legs. "Hi, I'm Makayla Antonia Roberts, except my Daddy says it's really Makayla Antonia Banner, and my Mommy calls me Kayla. What's your name?" she asked looking up at him with a large grin.

"I'm Steve Rogers." he said as Thor walked over and picked up the little girl in one hand and took the tray of raw meat in the other. "You look just like your mother." he said and looked at me. I smiled and he gave me a small smile before looking back at Kayla.

"Are you really Captain America?" she asked and he nodded. "You're on my big girl pajamas." she said and I let out a small laugh. Thor laughed and took Kayla over to the grill, I watched as he let her pick up a hamburger and drop it onto the grill.

"Dr. Banner," Steve said shaking his hand. "It's good to see you again."

"You too Cap." Bruce nodded. "How's life been treating you?"

"You didn't hear huh? Our dear Captain got himself an apartment, outside of the SHIELD base." Tony said giving Steve a proud grin. "Even had himself a girlfriend for a second there."

"She wasn't my girlfriend Tony." Steve sighed. "She was just... A friend."

"What happened to her Steve?" I asked and he shook his head with a small smile.

"Nothing." he said. "Nothing happened, she- We weren't together." he laughed, then looked at me. "You look great." he said before he stuck his hand out. I shot him a look and he smiled before he hugged me.

"Mommy, Mommy!" I heard Kayla call. "Look, I'm a warrior!" she was standing on the counter next to the barbeque, holding the tongs and trying to look fierce. I laughed and shook my head.

"Don't move!" I laughed as Dallas came running over with my iPhone. I took a picture and then Thor got into the picture, pretending to have been defeated. I laughed at the two as I took another picture.

"New best friend." Bruce said and I nodded.

"I know." I shook my head as I went back to where Pepper, Dallas, Amanda and Natasha were sitting.

"She is just _too_ precious." Pepper laughed.

"Yeah and she knows it. That girl is going to be a menace when she grows up." Dallas shook his head. "I can't _wait_ to spoil her!" he squealed.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Hey ya'll! This chapter starts off with a small glimpse of what's going on over at HYDRA. We know a little of what's happening with HAMMER, but HYDRA and HAMMER are different groups with the same agenda. So of course they're going to do things a little differently. Things are getting a little interesting, in the next chapter Erik Selvig makes an appearance, and starts working with Bruce and Tony. Wait 'till you see what they're up to, it's going to blow your minds! =)_**

**_Disclaimer: I wish I owned Marvel's characters. But I don't. Marvel owns them. I own my OC's though. But I'd happily sell them to Marvel. if they made a movie with Minnie in it who do you think would portray Minnie? I don't know who I'd picture as Minnie... Maybe Bryce Dallas Howard? What do you guys think? Who do you picture as Minnie?_**

* * *

The first thing anyone heard walking into the lab was the screams of agony. Madame Hydra continued to the back of the lab where Dr. Fleischer was working. "What's his problem?" she asked, leaning on the counter next to the annoyed looking German doctor.

"His body is rejecting the serum as well." he shrugged.

"How many is that?"

"Four." He shook his head before he picked up a gun and checked it. "I'll give him another minute, see if he changes." The two stared at the man writhing in agony. "Do you think we made a mistake using an elemental mutant? I'm sure the fire is the problem."

"What do you suggest we do?" she asked looking at him.

"There's a school in New York. Post an ad asking for volunteers to help develop a cure. Get their DNA and test their blood."

"Why aren't we testing his blood? Do you know how hard it was to get it?"

"We're still duplicating it." he said and she scowled. "Hey," he cupped her face. "Don't think I don't appreciate what you sacrificed to get It." he said. "Because I appreciate it, I refuse to waste It." he said and she smiled lightly, touching his hand, and then looked back at the man who was writhing on the table, pleading.

"May I?" she asked and Dr. Fleischer nodded. She took the gun and walked over to the man before she shot him in the head. She looked back at the Doc before she walked over to him. "I have plans for that girl." he nodded. "I have people learning everything they can about her. When they have everything, I want you to look at her file and see if there is anything you can use."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked and she smirked.

"I want to hurt her in the worst way possible. Something that will make her truly suffer." she growled. "Do what you need to do at the school, look over the records, and you get back to Me." she ordered. He smiled and nodded before she walked over to him and pulled him into a kiss. She let go of him and then went upstairs. He sighed, and then looked at the dead body on the table.

"Always between the eyes." he chuckled before he shrugged and turned back to the chemicals strewn about on the table he was working on.

* * *

When Bruce woke up to a whimper, he though Kayla had snuck into the room after having a bad dream. That though was pushed away when he felt Minnie jerk to the side. Her breathing was increased; she flailed a little, almost like she was being held down. It was then he realized she was having flashbacks to her kidnapping. He got up quickly and moved the hair from her face.

"Minnie, wake up." he said softly, he cupped her face and lightly shook her shoulder. "Wake up honey." he said, her face twisted up in pain and he felt his heart race. Even if she wasn't in pain he hated seeing her like that. "Come on." he shook her a little harder. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around for a moment before her eyes focused on him. He gave her a small smile and she sat up, wrapping her arms around him. "It's okay." he whispered, running his fingers through her hair. He kept one arm wrapped around her as he lay back down and she continued to clutch his shirt.

"You must think I'm so weak." she said softly and he looked down at her.

"Hey, I still have dreams about the Other Guy." he said softly.

"How did you get over it?" she asked and he shook his head.

"It's not something you get over. They did something terrible to you, and if we hadn't got there in time- If I hadn't-"

"Shh." she put her finger to his lips.

"It's not something you get over, not easily. But it's something you learn to live with."

"Like the Other Guy?"

"Like the Other Guy." he agreed. She sighed and he looked down at her. She settled her shin on his chest and looked up at him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked and he raised his eyebrows.

"About the high school gym." he said honestly. "How you handled the Other Guy. He could have killed you, you know that don't you?"

"Baby, you have to stop hating him." she replied. "He's never made a move against me, or your daughter, not even that one time." she said and he looked away. He preferred not to think about that day. "I talked him down then, and I can talk him down now. He's not just rage you know." she said and he looked back at her. "He's fear, he's emotion." she bit her lip and gently kissed his chin. "He's part of you, and you shouldn't always expect the worst from him."

"It's easy for you to say," he said. "You're not the one who doesn't know what you're capable of. You're not the one who destroyed half of Harlem."

"I'm also not the one who saved the world." she said and he chuckled.

"Oh yeah, that."

"Oh yeah _that_." she repeated and grinned. "He was able to work with the team then. I saw the video of him totally kicking Loki's ass." He grinned and she reached up, running her fingers through his curls.

"He's unstable."

"We're all unstable Bruce." she told him. He sighed and then looked down at her.

"Why aren't you scared of him?" She smiled lightly and thought for a moment.

"Like I said," she said as she moved up slightly, she draped her arm over his chest, and lightly tilted his face toward her. "He's part of you." she smiled and kissed him gently. He smiled softly and she snuggled in to him. "I love you baby." she said, drifting back to sleep.

"I love you too." he said softly. She fell asleep and he smiled gently, looking down at her. He held her close to him, the feeling of her breathing against him served as a comfort.

She had slept with Kayla one night in her bed when she and Kayla were sick with the flu and he had winter finals, and she didn't want to get him sick. That night he had realized how much of an effect she had on him, even when they were sleeping. He had tossed and turned all night, unable to get into a comfortable position. This from the guy who slept on subway platforms and in jungles, and he couldn't get comfortable on a mattress with sheets and pillows. He sighed and ran a hand through his wild hair, knowing he'd be needing a trim soon, Minnie would hate it, she usually did when he cut his hair, and it had almost become a game to the both of them at this point. He let out a long sigh before he rolled over and tried to fall asleep. It was the worst night had in a long time.

Remembering that he rested his cheek against the top of her head, her hair was soft and he loved running his fingers through it, even as she slept, as he fell asleep.

* * *

"Minnie." I woke up to Dallas' voice.

"Baby I'm having that dream again." I mumbled.

"Wake up, you've got an appointment at Juan's." I tried to ignore my hallucination of my best friend until a hand collided with my rear end hardly. I yelped and jumped, startling Bruce who shot up quickly, wide eyes, but still mostly asleep.

"What happened?" he asked as I burst out laughing. I rested my forehead against his shoulder and shook my head before pulling back and kissing his cheek.

"It's nothing baby," I said. "Nothing that hasn't happened before and apparently nothing that won't happen again." I grinned. He sighed before lying back on the bed with his eyes closed.

"Dallas, what time is it?"

"Nine o'clock."

"Well, until ten she's mine." Bruce said wrapping his arms around my waist.

"No can do Love Bug, she's got an appointment at ten." Dallas said crossing his arms.

"I'm her husband, she's staying in bed."

"I'm her boyfriend, she's coming with me."

"Are you cheating on me with Dallas?" he asked opening his eyes. I shot him an innocent, yet slightly guilty look and he sighed.

"What can I say? He owns my hair, and gets me great deals on clothes and makeup, and god knows, I need a new wardrobe, especially after the stores they had in Nadine."

"Don't even get me started." Dallas sighed. "Besides, if you think about it, she was mine first." Dallas shrugged before holding his hands out. "Come on, Juan is dying to get his hands on you!"

"Oh, now that you put it that way." Bruce said sarcastically.

"I'll see you later baby." I kissed Bruce and wiggled out of his arms. He sighed, defeated before sitting up as I grabbed some clothes.

"Am I watching Kayla?"

"No, she's coming with us, so is Amanda, so don't worry." Dallas said as he ushered me out of the room. Bruce nodded before lying back on the bed with a sigh.

When we got to Juan's he threw his arms around me, then pulled away, chastising whatever bitch turned my hair into the mess that it was, and then hugging me again. I laughed, and then introduced him to Amanda.

"She's a dream, I bet all the little boys just love you!" he said as he held her at arm's length. She turned red and mumbled something and I looked at her.

"What do you think Piotr would like?" Pepper teased her and Dallas looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

"Are you holding out on me?" he swatted her arm.

"Piotr is Amanda's boyfriend." Kayla said jumping up and down, not liking that she wasn't the center of attention.

"Is Thor your boyfriend?" Dallas teased and she shook her head as he picked her up.

"Noooo! He's my pony!" she said and I laughed.

"Okay, Amanda, darling, I'm thinking we just give you some highlights, here," he said as he planted her in front of a mirror and traced his fingers over her hair.

"Give her some of those ones under her hair too." Dallas said and Juan nodded.

"What do you think Minnie?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, they were a life saver with me, I mean Bruce loved 'em." I said and he smiled.

"Perfect, okay, Raymond, take Amanda, give her highlights, her and here and here," he said as he directed the man. "And then I want to give her a bob, but put layers in there, layers are very edgy, and make a sweep, here." he gestured, and then looked at Amanda. "Yes?"

"Sounds good." she grinned. He nodded appreciatively and then sent her off with Raymond.

"Okay, for the little one," he looked at Kayla who was spinning around in circles. "Just a trim, she's a doll, and I don't want to hurt those precious curls." he said as he ran a hand over Kayla's hair. She smiled up at him. "But give her a deep conditioning, it's best to start them when you're young." he said and then handed her off to Oliver. "Pepper, your hair is beautiful, I don't want to touch it right now." he shook his head.

"She just got it done last month." Dallas explained to me and I nodded.

"Now, you." he looked at me pointedly. "Highlights and layers. Lots and lots and lots of long layers, it'll look great, let's get started." he said, pulling me to a chair. I laughed while Pepper went to get us some Starbucks across the street.

"I never asked, but what happened with my dad?" Amanda asked and I sighed gently. She looked at me in the mirror and raised an eyebrow as I sighed.

"Nothing." I said finally and her face fell. I could understand the feeling, she hoped that if her dad was really concerned about her, he would have done something after she took off, but with him doing nothing- it was like he really had cut her off. Which he had. "He did report you running away to the police, but when he told them what you are, he wasn't too pleased." I sighed. "Then Agent Coulson had SHIELD take over, and they were more than happy to let it happen. According to SHIELD you're living at a homeless shelter in Canada and you can't be extradited because you're in a different country and the government doesn't extradite unless you've committed a crime." I explained.

"Well, at least I'm able enough to make it to Canada." she sighed and I smiled. After we finished getting our hair done, Juan gave us some products to use at home, making us swear we would use them, and making appointments for the future. After our appointment Dallas dragged us to a few stores, and I ended up buying tons of things I knew I never would have been able to buy in Nadine.

"Retail therapy?" Bruce asked when we got to the apartment Dallas had commandeered for us.

"Of the best kind." I said and kissed him. "What do you think?" I asked turning around and holding my arms out. I had changed from my jeans and tee shirt to a pair of mint green trousers, a cream coloured shirt with ruffles down the front, and a pair of cream coloured heels making me close to his height.

"You look beautiful." he smiled before he leaned in and kissed me. "Did you clear out Bloomingdales?" he asked and I shrugged with a small grin.

"I'm an addict, you knew that when you married me." I said and he nodded.

"Amanda, you look very grown up." he said and she smiled.

"Thanks Dr. Banner." she said and he laughed.

"I think at this point you can call me Bruce."

"Daddy, Daddy, I got new dresses and new bows for my hair, and new shoes!" Kayla said in excitement.

"Retail therapy." he sighed.

"Oh my gosh, Bruce, wait until you see the evening dress Minnie bought." Pepper said with a grin. "You're going to die."

"Is it anything like that green dress?" he asked and I laughed.

"God I haven't thought about that dress in forever." I said.

"I haven't forgotten that dress." he said and I grinned.

"Well you'll have to thank Dallas and Tony for that one, those two little sneaks bought it for me in hopes that it would make you notice me."

"I don't think there was a man with a pulse who didn't notice you." he said and I smiled.

"Come on Kayla, it's time to see your new house!" Dallas said as he scooped her into his arms.

"Does this mean I can't put Play-Doh in Stevie Monroe's lunch anymore?" she asked as he carried her to the elevator. I laughed as did everyone else, before I moved in towards Bruce, who was looking at my top.

"If you like this," I said, leaning in to whisper gently in his ear. "Wait until you see what else I bought." I gave his ear a light nibble and he groaned softly, before locking me into place with his arm around my waist.

"Do you have _any_ idea what you do to me?"

"I have a pretty good idea." I smiled before I took his hand and led him to the elevator.

"I love it." I said instantly. Dallas grinned and Pepper was standing there looking triumphant.

"I helped decorate it, wait until you see your bedroom."

"Nothing in certain." Bruce tried to say, but I was already following Pepper upstairs.

"Oh my god, honey, wait until you see the size of this closet!" I called down to him and he nodded.

"I lost her at the size of the closet, didn't I?" he asked and Kayla looked at him.

"Don't you like it Daddy?"

"Course I do Kayla." he said as he picked her up, and started up the stairs. "Dallas has got good taste. But don't tell him I said that."

"Too late Love Bug." Dallas said from the top of the stairs. "Do you love it, or do you _love_ it?" he asked with a smile.

"It's not bad Dallas." he said and Dallas smiled.

"Wait until you see the view, plus, you're not too far from Stark Tower, so you can get to the labs really quickly, also, there's a bedroom that we set up as the guest room, but, it can very easily be converted to a teenage paradise." he said, nodding to Amanda who was in the master bedroom, listening to Pepper telling a story. "I mean, if you want to keep her."

"You make her sound like some sort of stray dog."

"Let me show you, Kayla, go check out your room baby girl." Dallas said and Bruce put his daughter down. She ran to the room Dallas had pointed to and opened the door.

Bruce followed Dallas down the hall, and to the room he had been talking about. It was a decent sized room with a great view from the large window. There was a full sized bed with two bedside tables, and a closet with a desk, and a large armchair. A bookshelf was against one wall with books stuffed in it. The room was a pretty deep blue color and had white curtains with yellow poka dots on it, and a throw rug on the floor.

"I could paint a few quotes or words or something on the wall, change the color scheme in here, and bam, perfect room for a teenager." Dallas was saying as Bruce looked around.

"How the hell would I bring that kind of a thing up with Minnie?"

"You don't." Dallas said with a smile. "She's bringing it up with you later." he nodded. "You just have to agree. I mean, you knew you were moving in here the moment you walked in, didn't you?"

"You know Dallas," Bruce said. "It's scary how well you read people."

"That's a yes." he said and Bruce nodded.

"So you bought that green dress huh?"

"Oh Honey, not only did I buy it, I _saved_ it." Dallas said and Bruce looked at him with surprise clearly written on his face. "Oh yeah, it's hanging up in your closet right now." he said as he led Bruce to the master room. It had red wine colored walls with a large white wrought iron four poster bed with white curtains surrounding it. There was white doors he assumed went to the closet, there was a large black trunk at the bottom of the bed, and a large chair in the corner. On one side of the bed there was a small bedside table with an artistic looking lamp, and the other had a small table with drawers. Another white door led to the bathroom, he looked at me and I smiled.

"Do you like it?" I asked and he nodded.

"How could I not?" he asked with a smile. I grinned and threw my arms around him, knocking him back onto the bed. He laughed as I covered his face in kisses. He turned his face, catching my lips longly before smiling. "I take it you like it?" he asked and I laughed.

"It's okay." I nodded and he smiled. "I guess." I rolled my eyes and he shook his head.

"Daddy are we really going to live here?" Kayla aske walking into the room. He and I both sat up and he looked down at her for a moment before he nodded.

"Yeah Kayla, we're going to live here." he said and she cheered.

"Yaaaay!" she said before grabbing Amanda's hand. "Come see my room." she insisted. I smiled as Bruce got up and opened the door to the closet. A few things were hanging there; he turned the hanger on one of them before he chuckled.

"Hello old friend." I heard him say and I looked around his shoulder from where I was sitting. It was the green dress with no back.

I laughed as I thought about that dress and Pepper smiled as she sat down on the bed with me.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hey ya'll! So the first part of this story is one of those 'if you don't like to read mature stories, then don't read that part' kind of parts, so just scroll down a little bit. If you don't mind, then enjoy! We find out what Tony was planning (Though a few of you probably knew, I know one of you did). And we get to see Erik Selvig (And some more of Thor and Kayla getting along). **_

_**So, when I was figuring out the EpiPen for Bruce and Minnie I once thought to myself, what would happen if he used it too late? Like not all the way too late, but when there was the presence of the Hulk in Bruce's mind? Weeeeelllll I couldn't help myself and I wrote about it in this chapter. I know, I'm weird, but, you know you were wondering too. You are now anyway. Aside from me being a little weird (Again, I couldn't help but wonder!) I hope you like this chapter. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Marvel. I thin if an actress were going to portray Minnie it would be either Amy Adams or Ilsa Fisher (With red hair, though I love her as a brunette too). I love them both. But, sadly, Minnie shall never be in a Marvel movie. Le sigh.** _

* * *

"Hey Baby?" I asked Bruce that night as he got into bed. I was brushing out my hair, standing next to the closet.

"Hm?" he asked.

"Can we talk about Amanda?"

"What about her?" he asked and I sighed.

"Well, I've been thinking, I mean, she's only sixteen, and her dad is obviously not going to take her back in, So, I mean, I love having her around, and so does Kayla, and you seem to like her too. I think we should ask her to stay with us. I mean, obviously when she's not at school." I said and he looked at me before he smiled.

"That's a great idea." he said.

"Really?" I asked with a smile.

"What did you think I was going to say, no?" he asked and I turned around with a grin.

"I don't know, I mean I figured you'd say yes, but it is asking a lot, taking in another kid and all." I shrugged; his eyes were no longer on me though, rather on the pajamas I had bought earlier in the day.

"Uh huh." he said and I looked down at the white camisole and shorts I was wearing.

"Like it?" I asked as I walked over to him.

"What's not to like?" he asked as I climbed onto the bed. I grinned as I leaned over and kissed him. "You know," he said between kisses. "Sometimes, I wonder if," he groaned lightly as I lightly bit down on his lower lip. "You wear, things like this, to get your way." he pulled back from kissing me as I straddled his lap. I smiled and kissed him again deeply before I pulled back.

"Does it work?" I asked and he raised his eyebrows.

"It's work better if you weren't wearing anything at all." he shrugged and I hit his shoulder lightly, making him laugh before I leaned in. I made sure my lips brushed his ears as I spoke.

"That can be arranged." I said softly, before lightly biting his ear.

That was all it took, the next second he had flipped me so I was laying with my back on the bed, he was over me, kissing me deeply and passionately, I ran a hand through his hair, and used the other one to pull on the hem of his shirt, lifting it up, he finally pulled back to pull his shirt over his head and drop it on the floor. I ran my hands up his chest, over his dark chest hair, then back down, to the waistband of his pajama pants. His thumbs found the waistbands of my shorts, and he slid them down, I lifted my hips letting him get them down to my thighs, then slide them down from there. I pulled him back down to meet my lips, his hands sliding up my camisole, lightly brushing over very sensitive flesh.

I slid my hand below the waistband of his pajama pants and lightly grasped his hardening member. He buried his face in my neck, breathing hardly as I ran a hand over him slowly, him groaning in response. I did that twice more, and dragged my thumbnail lightly down the underside before he pulled away quickly. I sat up in surprise as he moved from me to the other side of the bed, and then realized he was going for the EpiPen.

I noticed the emerald in his eyes; he plunged the tip of the needle into his arm and quickly pushed the release, his hands trembling. I pulled the camisole off and tossed it at him, successfully getting his attention again. His eyes were still green, and I hesitated until he grabbed my legs and pulled me over to him. I giggled as I wrapped my legs around his waist, his lips meeting mine frantically, my hand pulling at his pajama pants, before I pulled back.

"You're overdressed." I said and he pulled away to quickly take care of that. He came back and I noticed his eyes were still green. "Baby-" I said, before he cut me off, capturing my lips with his, he lifted my leg over his hip and I groaned deeply into the kiss as he moved into me. I held his shoulders, digging my nails into them as our bodies moved together, getting used to the rhythm.

It had been awhile for us, something always ended up happening or coming up, as these things do when you're married with a kid, but she seemed content in sleeping in her new room, down at the other end of the house. I'd have to remember to thank Dallas for that, but to be honest, at the moment, that wasn't what my mind was on.

We lay there afterwards, on top of the blankets while I lightly ran my finger up and down his chest. "I hate to say I told you so..." I said looking up at him. He looked down at me and I smiled.

"About what?" he asked as I lightly kissed his chest.

"About your liking what else I bought." I said and he smiled. We both sat up and he retrieved his boxers from the edge of the bed they had landed on. "Can I ask you something?" I asked as he moved over to me and kissed me gently.

"Hmm?" he asked and I looked at his eyes. They were back to his normal deep brown color.

"Did I just have sex with you, or the other guy?" He let out an astonished sounding laugh as he lay back on the bed next to me. "I'm serious." I said as he put a hand over his eyes, and then squeezed the bridge of his nose. "It was… _Different_!"

"What do you mean different?" he asked and I crossed my arms.

"Well, for one, your eyes were bright green." I said pointedly. "Not to mention you didn't talk the entire time, and you... I don't know, you moved differently." I said with a small shrug.

"If you were having sex with the other guy I think you would have noticed." he said and I swatted his chest lightly.

"Come _on_ Bruce," I said as I looked down at him. "I'd like to know who it was I just had sex with." He smiled lightly as he looked up at me before he sighed.

"You had sex with me." he said, running his hand up my thigh. "Just like every other time."

"But your eyes-"

"I will admit, we waited a little longer than usual to take care of my problem, so there might have been a small bit of his influence, but it was me. I was completely aware, and in control."

"You promise?" I asked and he nodded.

"Would I lie to you about that?" he asked and I smiled as I leaned down and kissed him lightly. "I mean, maybe he was more aware of everything, but it was definitely me."

"_What?_" I asked incredulously and he looked up at me innocently.

* * *

I couldn't help but smile at Thor and Kayla, she had finally found someone (Aside from the dog) who matched her energy level.

"Sooo," Dallas said as he walked into the kitchen in the mansion. I was sitting at the counter, drinking a cup of coffee and occasionally watching Thor and Kayla out the window. "How did you enjoy your first night in the new apartment?"

"I think I had sex with the Hulk." I admitted and he looked at me with a little shock and a lot of curiosity.

"Is that even possible?" he asked and I shrugged.

"Bruce claims it was him, but... It was different." I nodded and he let out a small laugh.

"Damn girl." he said and sat down at the counter with me. "Tell me everything."

"One second; Jarvis, if Tony ever hears a word of this, I'll make sure to spill water on your circuits." I said looking at the ceiling.

"I'll mute my systems for a few minutes Mrs. Banner." the AI promised and I smiled.

"Thank you Jarvis." I said, and then looked back at Dallas. I told him about how long Bruce waited before using the EpiPen, and how different it had been with him because of it.

"So he was like, half Bruce, half Hulk?" Dallas asked and I nodded.

"Like the Hulk in Bruce's body." I explained and he let out a laugh.

"Well how was it?"

"Oh, it was _good_, don't get me wrong." I said with a small laugh. "But uh, it was _different_." I shrugged.

"_Better_?" he prompted and I laughed.

"I wouldn't say that." I shrugged. "More... driven."

"He drove you hard huh?" he asked with a wink and I laughed. The doorbell rang and I stood up.

"Jarvis?" I asked.

"Dr. Erik Selvig, Mrs. Banner." he said and I went to the door out of habit.

"Old habit." I shrugged to Pepper who was coming out of the office I knew she worked in. "It's your house, sorry." I said and she shook her head.

"Oh please Honey," she said shaking her head. "It's your home too whenever you're here and you know that." she said as I opened the door.

"Dr. Selvig," I smiled at the older gentleman.

"Ms. Strong, right?" he asked as he stepped in and shook my hand.

"Actually it's Mrs. Banner now." I said and he raised his eyebrows.

"Well, congratulations are in order." he kissed my knuckles and I laughed. "Ah, and the always lovely Mrs. Stark." he smiled at Pepper who grinned and walked over to him.

"Good to see you again Erik." she said as she hugged him.

"Well, why don't I show you to your room?" I asked and he smiled gratefully at me. I led him upstairs to the bedroom I knew he would be staying in, and he thanked me.

"So, Mrs. Banner for how long now?" he asked as I led him back downstairs to say hello to Thor before taking him to the second basement where Tony's lab was.

"Three years, almost four." I nodded and he smiled.

"That's very nice." he said and I nodded. "You must love him."

"Well I married him didn't I?" I asked with a small laugh. "Thor! Quit battling Ice Giants and come say hi to Erik!" I called to him. He and Kayla ran over and Thor picked Selvig up in one of those rib dislocating hugs.

"Jane sends her love," Selvig said to Thor who smiled lightly. "And Darcy recommends you pick up a damn phone sometime." he said and Thor laughed.

"She has quite a way of stating her thoughts." Thor said.

"And who is this?" Selvig asked and Kayla smiled at him from under Thor's helmet.

"My name is Makayla Antonia Banner, my Mommy and Daddy call me Kayla, and Thor calls me Maiden My-Kayla warrior of Midgard." she said as she stuck her hand out.

"Dr. Erik Selvig," he said with a smile. "It's an honor."

"What kind of doctor? Do you sew people up and stuff?"

"No."

"Do you cut people up?" she asked curiously and I laughed.

"Makayla!" I said in shock and she looked at me seriously.

"Its Maiden My-Kayla warrior of Midgard Mommy." she said and I smiled.

"Of course it is." I kissed her forehead. "Forgive me."

"I'm a scientist." Erik said in amusement.

"So is my Daddy, his name is Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, do you know him?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." he said.

"Your first name is _Robert_?" I heard Tony ask and I turned around to see him and Bruce standing there.

"That's Googlable." Bruce said, holding a bowl of popcorn. He popped a few pieces into his mouth as Dr. Selvig walked over and extended his hand to Tony.

"Good to see you Tony."

"Good to see you not under the influence." Tony grinned. "Really man, cosmic cube addiction is nothing to scoff at." he shook his head.

"Ah, well, if there's a support group for that, let me know. I'll be the first to sign up."

"Yeah and Hawkeye will be a close second." Tony grinned.

"Dr. Banner," Selvig said shaking his hand. "Good to see you again, I was just getting to know your charming wife, and amusing daughter."

"Daddy, I'm a warrior!" Kayla said jumping up and down.

"You sure are kiddo." he said chuckling at her as the oversized helmet fell off.

"Oops." she said and picked it up quickly.

"We'll be in the lab." Tony said gesturing to Selvig who followed.

"Thor, call Jane." he pointed to Thor who nodded.

"He'll have to wait until Amanda gets off the phone with her boyfriend." I chuckled and Bruce shot me a look.

"She's too young for a boyfriend." he insisted.

"I had boyfriends when I was her age." I said shaking my head. "Go on to the lab; go do your science stuff." I said shooing him away.

"Oh, wait, one thing." he said and I looked back at him. He caught my lips with his, and pulled me into a long kiss before I finally broke away.

"Go." I said with a smile. He followed Tony and Erik to the lab and I shook my head as I set about making everyone lunch.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight, you want to erase the part of your memory that stored the information of the locations of all of the superheroes who were forced to register because of the superhero and mutant registration act?" Selvig asked Tony who nodded.

"SHIELD had me design a database for them, to keep all of the superhero locations a secret from HAMMER who is pushing this fifty state initiative crap." Tony explained. "Well, HYDRA somehow found out Bruce's location when he was supposed to be under the radar, and they induced a little freak out." he gave Bruce a good thump on the shoulder. "It's good for him every now and again." Tony said and Bruce rolled his eyes. "Problem is, they uh, got a little piece of him this time."

"You destroyed the database though and all the files." Selvig said and Tony nodded.

"And I hacked into every government agency and destroyed their mutant files too." he said and Bruce looked at him in surprise, he didn't know Tony had done that. "If I could get in, there's no knowing who else could." Tony rationalized and Bruce smiled lightly.

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is," Tony said, pointing to a screen where a video clip of Selvig came up from Stark Towers, building the porthole that had let the Chitauri into our world. "Under the right circumstances, anyone can be convinced to do anything." he said as Selvig stared at the video. Tony wiped his hand across the screen in front of him and the video on the wall turned off. "Barton told Loki all of the SHIELD secrets, you opened the door to a knocking threat. I don't want to be the one who has every hero and mutant sent to the gas chambers." he explained.

"You're talking about induced amnesia, if it's done right!" Selvig protested and Tony stared at him.

"Yeah." he said simply.

"Do you have anything to add to this?" Selvig asked Bruce who was chewing on a piece of popcorn.

"I think it's the right thing to do." Bruce said finally. "Granted, doing it right is going to be hard, but if we can do it, we can draw both HYDRA and HAMMER out and shut them down." he said. Tony shot his friend a smile and Selvig stared down at him.

"You just want them to not know where your little girl is." he said finally and Bruce smiled lightly, looking down, before looking back at the scientist.

"They know exactly where she is. But her location wouldn't have anything to do with what Tony knows." Bruce explained. "I could send them away, keep them safe." he shrugged and Selvig stared down at him.

"So why don't you?" he asked and Bruce's eyes darkened. "HYDRA figured out where you were, got you to turn and took your DNA. And yet your family is still upstairs, running around like it's the fourth of July." he shrugged. "Dr. Banner they should not be here for this. When they find out what Tony's done to himself, they will come after us and don't think for a second-"

"It's all taken care of Erik." Tony interrupted. "The only thing we need to worry about is erasing that memory, but not turning me into Joe Average."

"We're going to need a medical doctor..." Selvig said after a moment of thought. "And perhaps a hypnotist." he turned to a white board and pulled the cap off of a marker and started to write on it. Bruce slowly let go of the metal arm of the chair he had been sitting in. The impression of his hand squeezing the metal was forever imprinted in it now. He glared at the back to Selvig's head and then looked to Tony.

"It's all taken care of." Tony promised his friend.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hey ya'll! This is a shorter chapter, but it's got a lot going on. I hope you guys are surprised, because it took a lot of convincing myself that it was a good idea. Even if you're not surprised, I hope you at least like it.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may recognize from the Avengers, or Marvel. (Duh)**_

* * *

"You know in all our time, nothing like this has happened. I mean, there was an accident once, where our cooling systems broke... Oh man was that bad." the kid who worked at the Los Angeles Blood Bank shook his head.

"We're sorry to do this, we've never had an incident like this before either." the black haired woman who worked for Quest shook her head. "My boss tells me that uh, this woman calls the place she donated at flipping out because she found out she has some sort of blood disorder, and next thing I know I'm being sent to every blood bank in the state trying to track down her red and whites." she shrugged as she pushed a long strand of hair behind her ear.

"Man that sucks." he shook his head as he led her down a row.

"Even worse, I had tickets to the game tonight." she scoffed. "Court side, do you have any idea what I had to do to get those?" she asked with a scowl. "I had to give them to my brother and his _bitch_ wife- Excuse the language."

"No, no, god, I'd be saying the same thing." he shook his head. "That seriously blows."

"You're telling me." she shook her head with an unhappy sigh.

"Let me see- Ah, here we are." the guy stopped at the right cooler and looked at his clipboard, and then opened it. He looked at the blood bags before he pulled one out triumphantly. "06553210." he said and she smiled as he put it into the small cooler she was holding. "Alright, I'm gonna need you to sign there." he said handing her the clipboard. She signed a wavy line and dated it and then followed him to the front. "So, what's up with the blood? Think she's a mutant? Sometimes I wonder how many mutants have donated blood. Man, if we knew, which ones were mutants, what do you think would happen to the blood?" the guy asked.

"She not a mutant." Leona said as she walked out the door, adding under her breath. "Not _yet_."

* * *

"Kayla, don't touch that." I said to my daughter who was eying a control to the cherry picker Barton was currently using to practice with. He had a bow in his hand and was lining up his arrow, getting ready to release when her little hand shot out and pushed the button quickly. Barton yelped, stumbling forward, but catching himself quickly. "Makayla what did I just say!" I asked as she collapsed in a fit of giggles. "I am _so_ sorry Clint." I called up to him.

"It's okay Minnie." he said with a small grin. "She had to get it out of her system eventually, right?" he asked. I shook my head and led Kayla back to the patio and sat her down at the glass top table where Natasha was sitting, typing on a laptop. I went into the house and brought back a pile of white paper and her box of crayons. She instantly went to work, coloring while I went back to where Steve Rogers was trying to figure out the touch screen phone.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asked after a moment of watching the young girl curiously. She swung her feet back and forth as she colored and looked at Natasha before she looked at the page again.

"Coloring." she said, and looked back up at the older woman. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just working." Natasha said and Kayla picked up a red crayon.

"Are you related to my mommy?" she asked and Natasha smiled lightly.

"No."

"Cuz you have red hair."

"So does Pepper." Nat pointed out.

"Yeah and she's my auntie."

"But they're not related."

"Does that mean you're my auntie too?" Kayla asked and Natasha froze.

"You'd have to ask your mother." she said finally and Kayla shrugged.

"Cuz I'd like it if you were my auntie too. You're pretty and I like your hair, it's bouncy."

"Your hair is bouncy too." Natasha said and she nodded.

"I know, you look like you could be my auntie." she said. The table was silent for a few minutes, Kayla occasionally putting down her crayons to pick up a new one. She finally dropped one with a satisfied smile. "Done." she said and picked up the paper. Natasha expected her to go running into the house, but instead she went around the table and pulled herself onto Nat's lap.

"Oh, uh..."

"It's you and me!" Kayla said showing her the picture proudly.

"That's really good." Natasha said and Kayla smiled before she hugged the older woman.

"Kayla, honey." I walked out of the house, having missed the entire exchange with the two. "Leave Ms. Romanoff alone, she's working." I said and Nat looked up at me, looking a little lost and a little emotional.

"It's okay." she said and cleared her throat. Kayla let go of her and kissed her cheek before she climbed off of her lap and went back to where her crayons were. Natasha got up and walked into the house muttering something about being right back.

"Kayla?" I asked and she smiled up at me.

"I like her hair." she said and I laughed as I kissed the top of her head.

"Someday your hair might look like that."

"Why isn't your hair curly?"

"Because it's always been a little wavy, but not curly."

"Why is my hair curly?"

"Because your daddy's is." I said and she nodded, before picking up a brown crayon and furiously scribbling something on her paper.

"Mommy?" she asked and I sat down next to her, puncturing the top of a capri sun with the straw for her.

"Hm?" I asked. She paused in her coloring and then looked at me with a smile.

"I love you." she said with a grin and I laughed.

"I love you too sweetheart." I kissed her forehead. "Do you like it here?" she nodded as she looked back at her picture.

"Yeah, it's fun here. Are we going to go back?" she asked and I shook my head.

"Probably not." I said and she nodded.

"I know." she said and continued to color. I chuckled and shook my head as I stole a sip of her capri sun. "_Mommy!_" she whined and I laughed.

"Okay, I'll get my own." I laughed.

* * *

The hardest thing one has to adapt to when their freedom has been taken from them is the scheduling. To know that someone else decides when you wake up, when you shower, eat, use the bathroom, and eventually go back to sleep, that's the hardest. But then, when you're in a hospital, you're forced to talk about your problems. Talk about how you feel about the way they treat you. What a fucking joke. Brian couldn't stop himself from scoffing at that thought, catching the attention of the doctor who was running the little group therapy session he was currently subjected to.

"Would you like to add something Brian?" she asked in that fucking voice that was supposed to be soothing, but made him want to take her fucking red pencil and use it to cut her voice box out. He just steadied his glare on her; she finally turned back to the patient who was talking.

"Brian," Dr. Gray called to him as he stood up after group. "I'd like to see you in my office." He scowled as one of the large orderlies put his hand on Brian's shoulder and led him to Dr. Gray's office. He sat down across from the desk and the orderly stepped back. "Brain, you're still not participating during group." she sighed. "What's going on?"

"Maybe I don't feel like spilling my guts to that group." he said simply.

"I've spoken with Dr. Drake, he says you don't talk to him either." she said, looking at him over the top of her glasses. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Maybe find me someone who knows molecules from atoms." he said and she frowned.

"A molecule is made from two or more atoms." she pointed out and the corner of his lip twitched slightly. "Is scientific knowledge important to you?"

"Seeing as it's what got me put here, yeah, it's important." he said.

"No Brian, you got yourself put here." she said shaking her head. "What you did was wrong, do you understand that?" his eyes darkened at the thought.

"Well, now, Doc, that's just from a matter of perspective." he said shaking his head.

"You think that killing your wife was okay?" she asked and he smirked at her.

"I'm already here Doc, and I know I ain't gettin' out. So who cares what I have to say about it?" he asked with a smirk. The orderly took him by the shoulder and led him from the room after Dr. Gray nodded to him.

Three days passed. Three days of being awoken at seven, force fed breakfast, forcibly showered, dressed, teeth brushed, brought to the common room, lunch, group, solo therapy, and then the time he had to himself before dinner, and then bed.

On the fourth day he was brought to the director of the hospital's office, where an attractive, sharply dressed man was sitting, talking casually with the director. "Ah, Dr. Banner." he smiled as he stood up and extended his hand. Brian looked at the director, before he shook the man's hand. "I'm Norman Osborn, pleasure to finally meet you." he smiled.

"I know who you are." Brian muttered as he looked between the two men.

"Brian, please sit down." Director Sherman said. "The state has decided that you can be released into Mr. Osborn's care, as your sponsor."

"Didn't know I have a sponsor." Brian said looking Norman over.

"Yes, well... Neither did we." Director Sherman muttered darkly. "But, either way, they've decided there's nothing else we can do for you, you'll be expected to still take your medication, and you need to see a therapist once a week as well, but Mr. Osborn is ready to take you now." Director Sherman said. Brian looked Osborn over; he just sat there, smirking.

Not a word was said through all of the paperwork, until they got to Norman's limo. "What is this state bullshit?"

"Well I _am_ your sponsor Brian," Norman said with a smirk. "And it does help to have friends in _very_ high places. Like you do."

"So what's the point of taking me out?" Brian asked and Norman looked at him.

"Why don't we go get a drink?" he asked with a small smile. "I'd rather discuss it over a whiskey sour myself." They got to a bar and Norman ordered a whiskey sour while Brian shot down two white Russians, and then slowly sipped a third. It had been years since he had a drink; aside from the few times he was able to convince the night orderly to share his bottle with him. "I've been having a problem lately, with your son." Norman smirked as Brian looked up at him. "A few years ago, there was an accident; Bruce was turned into something else."

"That boy never was right." Brian admitted. "Rebecca never would admit it, but there's something wrong with him. At a genetic level."

"Yes, I know about your accident." Norman said. "I guess it was only a matter of time before Bruce had his own huh?" he asked and Brian nodded.

"What happened?"

"Some tests, trying to jump start the super soldier program."

"You HYDRA?" Brian asked looking Norman over.

"Actually, HAMMER. We work with HYDRA though. Wait until you see Leona. How long's it been? You'll like her." Norman grinned. "But, that's not the point, the point is, your son changed, he's a superhero now." he shrugged. "An Avenger."

"That big green thing on the news. That's Bruce?"

"Yes sir it is." he said and Brian scoffed.

"So what do you want?"

"Well, the Hulk's gone and got himself married, had a kid. We're pretty sure she's gonna be more like him than he would admit." he shrugged. "We want her, and we want to test her. She might be the secret to creating a new race. There's also the mother. She's pissed off Leona pretty badly..."

"So it's revenge?"

"I like to think of it as a necessary sacrifice to start the new world." Norman smiled, before lifting his drink. "Do we have a deal?"

Brian thought for a second before a grin crossed his lips.

He lifted his drink and clinked it against Norman's.

This could be fun.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hey ya'll! Here's chapter 12, hope you like it! Also, for the record, I totally picture Christoph Waltz as Dr. Fleisher. Have you guys seen the Django Unchained trailer? Ugh, I'm dying, I Can't wait to see it! On another note, I posted a one shot featuring the Son of Coul himself, Agent Phil Coulson, go check it out, it takes place in the same universe as this story, and uh, well, there's a nice little cameo from a few of your favorite characters from this story, go see if you can notice them! I've got to say one of the things that kicks my butt into writing is Yoplait Boston creme pie yogurt. I love it, and it gives me a total sugar rush. That and diet Mountain Dew. I'm a writer, I never said I was a health freak. **_

_**Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, and I hope you check out my one shot, Heart of Gold. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone you recognize from the Avengers, the comics or anything. My characters just coexist. But not legally speaking. Enjoy!** _

* * *

Brian was brought back to Virginia where he was introduced to Dr. Fleischer. "What is it you're working on?" Brian asked as he looked over a few of Fleisher's notes on the whiteboard.

"Well, we're trying to take mutant DNA and make it compatible with human DNA and perhaps even make it take over, thus altering the human and making them more... unique." he smiled. "We are also working on making it so that we would be able to control them." he explained. Brian took a long drink out of a flask, before offering it to Fleisher who shook his head. "Uh, no, no thank you." he smiled as his eyes flickered over to Norman who was watching the scruffy man with an amused look on his face.

He nodded and took another drink, staring at the white board before he walked over, pulled it down and wiped his hand over it, erasing everything. "No, no- What! You- You're mad!" Fleisher shouted. He made a move towards Brian who held the white board marker out like a sword. He pointed a finger at him before he turned to the board.

Both men stood there as Brian started to write on the white board, the marker squeaking against the board occasionally. He paused, holding a finger in the air like he was thinking momentarily, and then took another long drink from his flask, before he started writing on the board again. When he finished he propped it back up on the stand and stood back, admiring his work. "That- That's very good." Fleisher said after a moment of looking it over. He looked at Brian with a small laugh, and then back to the board.

"Fill this up." Brian said simply to Norman before he walked to a table with chemicals on it. He looked at one beaker and then sniffed it. He scoffed and looked at a few others. "And get me some real chemicals, not the kinds you find in any kids first chemistry set." he ordered. Fleisher looked at Norman who smiled.

"Why is he here?" Fleisher asked as he followed Norman to the door.

"You need the help."

"Who is he?"

"He is one of the contributing factors to the Hulk." Norman said with a grin.

"How much of a contributing factor?"

"Half." he said and Fleisher stared at him momentarily before he looked back at Brian, and then to Norman again.

"He's his-"

"His father, yes." he nodded.

"Does he know?"

"Yes he does, luckily for us there's quite a bit of hostility between father and son, thus making getting him on our side a lot easier." he nodded. "Now go, work, you may learn something." he paused and turned back to Fleisher. "Where's Leona?"

"She tracked down a blood sample from Mrs. Banner."

"A blood sample?" Norman asked in surprise.

"Yes one of her friends managed to bully her into donating blood a few days before Mr. Banner's little incident. We found out the blood had been sent to a storage facility in Los Angeles, we were quite lucky actually." Fleisher said and Norman chuckled.

"You would think she'd have been more careful."

"I like to think of it as Fate." Fleisher smiled.

"Pretty thought, from the man who wanted to cut the baby out of her for its DNA."

"Oh, I still want the child's DNA. It would have been nice to have the stem cells too..." he sighed with a shrug. "But if this is the way that things get done, then so be It." he said and looked back at Brian who was pouring a chemical into a small Petri dish.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got to see a man about the fifty state initiative." Norman smiled at Fleisher who nodded and walked back to Brian who was putting the Petri dish down.

* * *

Amanda and Kayla were passed out on the couch when I went to check on them. It was close to eleven o'clock and they had fallen asleep watching Singing in the Rain. I chuckled and walked over to Kayla and picked her up. She nestled her face in my shoulder and wrapped her arms around me sleepily. I gently shook Amanda's shoulder, her eyes shot open, and she looked around quickly before realizing where she was. She sighed and got off of the couch, following me upstairs.

She went to her room across the hall from Kayla's and I opened Kayla's door, I brought her to the bed and laid her down before I took her shoes off. I got her a night time pull up and changed her into it and her pajamas, even though she was mostly potty trained at this point, they don't call them accidents for nothing. When I got her changed and under the covers I put her clothes in the hamper and turned on her nightlight, I bent over and kissed her forehead and turned around to see Bruce standing right behind me. I gasped and he chuckled.

"I thought you heard me come in." he said softly and I shook my head.

"God, next time grab my ass or something." I said and he laughed.

"I'll remember you said that." he said. I led him out of the room. I knocked on Amanda's door lightly and heard her respond. I opened the door and smiled at her.

"Good night sweetheart." I said as she pulled the blankets over her body.

"Good night Minnie." she smiled. "Good night Bruce." she said noticing him in the doorway.

"Night." he smiled at her. I slipped out of the room, flicking the light off as I did. I shut the door and was walking back to our room when Bruce took me up on what I said before and grabbed my butt. I yelped and turned around, smacking his arm. He laughed and I sighed darkly.

"Pain in the ass." I whispered and he grabbed my hips, pulling me back to him. He wrapped his arms around me, because I had been having a bad hair day I had tied it up in a loose bun, letting him kiss the nape of my neck easier. I bit my lip, holding in a groan as he kissed around to the area right behind my left ear. He let out a sigh as his phone buzzed and pulled it out of his pocket. He pretended like he was going to throw it, before he answered it.

"Yeah Tony?" he asked into the phone and listened for a minute. "Now?" he asked and then sighed. "No, no, nothing important." he said. "Alright, I'll be there." he hung up the phone.

"What are you guys working on?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. "I can't tell you."

"Bruce-"

"I can't." he said. "It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't want them to have any reason to get to you." he explained, before he cupped my face lightly. He pressed his lips to mine, giving me a long, loving kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." I said as I looked up at him, confusion evident in my eyes. "When will you be back?" I asked as he walked downstairs.

"I don't know. Tomorrow." he shrugged. He left and I stood there for a minute, biting my nails, when I finally called Dallas.

"What's going on?" he asked and I sighed.

"I don't know. I know something's going on, but Bruce won't tell me, and he doesn't know when he's coming home, Dallas, I'm stressing out." I said with a sigh.

"Okay honey, you need to calm down." he laughed. "Give me five minutes, we'll be right down." he said before hanging up. Five minutes later he and Felipe were at the door.

"Hello little sister." he said kissing me swiftly. I smiled and then kissed Dallas who held up a bottle of tequila.

"You are not getting me drunk!" I said and they laughed.

"It'll take your mind off of your husband." Dallas said and I shook my head with a smile.

"I don't want to take my mind off of him; I just want to know he's okay."

"Well let's put it this way," he said as he shut the door behind him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "When I'm done with you, you're not going to care if he comes home tonight or not."

"What Dallas is saying," Felipe said with a small smile. "Is perhaps it would be best to have a night where your concern is not on your husband." Felipe smiled and I nodded.

"I know what he was saying." I smiled before I turned and kicked Dallas in the butt. He laughed and Felipe grinned.

"It is a beautiful night. Shall we drink on the patio?" he asked and I smiled as I nodded. We got an ice bucket, three glasses and a bottle of margarita mix, and brought it to the patio. I sat down as Felipe mixed the drinks for us, and I looked out over the city.

"I bet you never had a view like this in Nadine." Dallas said and I chuckled.

"I'll show you pictures when I get around to reinstalling Jarvis in the house." I said and he smiled.

"Tell me about it." he said.

"What do you want to know?" I asked. "Oh, thank you Felipe." I smiled.

"You are very welcome." he said. Dallas patted his lap so I picked my feet up and put them in his lap. He took a drink of his margarita and softly ran his fingers down my foot. I squirmed a little and he laughed.

"Tell me about your friends, the things you would do. Baby, you were gone for three years. That's a long time. Shit, we didn't even last three years." Dallas nodded to Felipe who was sipping his drink. He faltered slightly, and then set his drink down.

"This is true. Dallas and I face a period of darkness. But we are better." he said and I smiled.

"I'm glad to hear you're better." I said. There was a ringing at the door and I looked back at it. "Who the hell...?" I muttered.

"Oh, it's Pepper; we invited her over since your husband took her husband and took off."

"Hi!" Pepper called through the house.

"Shh!" I whispered frantically. "Kayla's asleep, and trust me, we want her to stay that way." I said and a guilty look crossed her face.

"Shit, I'm sorry." she whispered.

"It's okay." I said and let out a small sigh before I hugged her. "Do you know what those boys are up to?" I asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Please, if I ask Tony starts in on some whole genetic displacement and reinstatement tirade, and trust me that's not a speech you want to hear twice." she sighed.

"It's more than Bruce does." I sighed. "Just throw the bag on the couch." I waved my hand at it. She put her bag on the couch and I guessed Dallas invited her to stay over considering it was an overnight bag. "Come on, we're drinking." I said as I led her to the patio. I paused, getting another glass before I walked outside. I handed the glass to Felipe who instantly poured her a margarita and she sat down.

"Minnie was just telling us about her life in Pleasantville." Dallas said pointing at me.

"Why Dallas, is that a bitter undertone I hear biting into your voice?" I asked with a grin. "You have no idea how much I missed you." I sighed. "Let's see, my closest friends were a couple named Aaron and Erin, she was a catholic, but he wasn't sure, they had no kids, but loved to tell me how to raise mine, everyone was very conservative, there were no decent clothing stores, the movie theater only showed movies on the weekend, but they still ran a platter-house, and not very well, so the show was almost always out of focus, which made me nauseated, and gave Bruce headaches." I took a large drink of my margarita. "I don't want to talk about Nadine. It was nice and all, but I don't want to ever go back there." I laughed.

"Me either." a voice said from the doorway. I turned around and saw Amanda standing there.

"Honey, did we wake you up?" I asked and she shook her head.

"No, I was going to the bathroom and I heard Pepper come in." she said. "Can I join you guys?"

"Sure, grab a glass." Dallas said. She did and Felipe poured her some margarita mix.

"I am not contributing to the delinquency of a minor." he said and I scoffed.

"Diego." I said and Dallas laughed.

"Yes, but Diego was over eighteen." Felipe pointed out.

As the night wore on we soon found ourselves talking about some of the most mundane things. "What is the most embarrassing thing you've walked in on Tony doing?" Dallas asked and I laughed as did Pepper.

"I've walked in on him with other women a couple of times, usually awkward when that happened..." she shook her head as she took a drink of her third margarita.

"What?" Amanda asked and Pepper put her hand on Amanda's.

"I'm sorry honey, you don't know, before Tony and I were married, I was his personal assistant." she said.

"Well now I'm sorry." Amanda said and we laughed.

"And then after she was the assistant, it was Natasha, and then it was me." I explained.

"He sure knows how to go through assistants." she said and Pepper laughed.

"You have _no_ idea." Pepper said with a grin. "Though, I think that when all the craziness blows over, Minnie will be number one in the assistant department again." she said and I held my margarita glass in two hands.

"You like me," I said in an astonished and tearful sounding voice. "_You really like me!_" we laughed and I finished off my drink before thinking. "Okay, I uh, I walked in on him once, in the Malibu house, half in the Iron Man suit, using the leg bit as an air guitar, singing along to Black Sabbath's Iron Man." I said with a nod. We laughed at that and Pepper covered her forehead with her hand.

"He still does that!" she said and I laughed.

"I have no doubts." I said with a laugh. "Most embarrassing thing you've walked in on Dallas doing." I said and Felipe laughed.

"He likes to do the teeth thing, himself, with the strips." he said pointing to his teeth as Dallas sat there grinning.

"Do those work?" I asked and Dallas nodded.

"Sure, Felipe's sister knows a guy who works at Crest, I'll get you some." he said and I nodded with a smile.

"Great, I could use it huh?" I asked and then smiled.

"Maybe one or two." Felipe nodded. "Well, Dallas, he likes to do it himself, I come home, and he's sitting in front of the mirror, holding the pillow from our bed, doing impressions from the Godfather in the mirror with those things in his mouth, and cotton in his cheeks." he said. I laughed as Dallas shrugged.

"I went through a wig phase," I said holding my hand up. "I did, I can admit it, it was fun," I cleared my throat. "So I get home one evening, and Dallas is there, no big deal, but he's there, in this god awful David Bowie looking outfit wearing this bright purple bob wig, insisting we go dancing." I said with a laugh.

"Did you?" Felipe asked and I scoffed as I nodded.

"Fuck yes we did!" I said and they laughed. "We were both interns, we needed to burn off some steam, we were worked like crazy there."

"What, because you weren't as Tony's assistant?" Pepper asked and I shook my head as Felipe handed me a new drink.

"Now, as Tony's assistant, I was, but, with him it was different, there was almost a routine to his madness." I said and she giggled.

"True." she nodded and Amanda looked up.

"Most embarrassing thing you've ever caught Minnie doing." she said and they laughed.

"You little traitor!" I said to her making her laugh.

Little did we know not twenty minutes away, Bruce and Erik were preparing to help Tony with arguably the biggest decision of his life.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hey Ya'll! So I was going to upload this yesterday, but it was literally the worst Friday the 13th ever. A friend of mine cut herself, another was in a (Minor) car accident, and, well, believe it or not, a guy who runs in the same crowd as mine died. I didn't know him well, but the last time I saw him he was very sweet to me. He dated a very good friend of mine on and off again for close to ten years. Another friend broke up with his girlfriend, my sister's barn had a water line break and her big barn was completely flooded... It's just, it's been insane. So, I decided to wait until the 14th to finish writing this chapter and upload it. I hope you guys enjoy it. **_

_**Also, if you haven't already, please check out my Avengers one-shot featuring our own Son of Coul Mr. Agent Phil Coulson! Enjoy.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, Marvel does. I'm still a little bit shell shocked.** _

* * *

About an hour and a half after Amanda had come downstairs there was a knock on the door. "Did you invite someone else over?" I asked Dallas who shook his head. I looked at Pepper and she shrugged so I got up and went to the front door. Happy Hogan rushed into the apartment the moment I opened the door and shut the door behind me. "Happy, what's going on?" I asked.

"Get your coat, you need to come with me. Is Pepper here?" he asked as he opened the hall closet and pulled a coat off of a hanger. He helped me into it, and noticed I was barefoot. "Get your shoes. Pepper!"

"Happy?" she asked as she walked in from the patio. "What's going on?"

"There's been an accident." he informed us. "Tony and Bruce are in the hospital."

"Oh my god." I said covering my mouth with shock.

"What happened?" Pepper asked in shock as Happy picked up her coat from the couch and helped her into it.

"You know how he gets, likes to outrun me, lose me..." he said and Pepper nodded. "He lost me, when I caught up to him, he had lost control of the car, hit a fire hydrant, and someone ran into him." Happy said.

"Oh god I feel sick." Pepper said covering her mouth.

"Are they okay?" I asked, touching Happy's arm.

"I don't know Minnie, as soon as the ambulance went to the hospital, I came here." he said as I held onto his arm, I slipped into my shoes and ran a hand over my face.

"Don't worry; we'll stay here with the girls." Felipe said and I nodded.

"Okay." I said before I walked over to Amanda who had tears rolling down her face. "Don't worry honey, he'll be fine." I kissed her forehead. I nodded and she nodded before wrapping her arms around Felipe. Dallas nodded to me and I grabbed my purse before I followed Pepper and Happy to the elevator. We went downstairs, to the car and he let us get into the back.

By the time we got to Bellevue there was a bunch of reporters outside. Happy held the door to the car open for us and we ducked our heads, Happy put his hands on either of our shoulders and led us inside, ignoring the questions from the press. We were brought to a waiting room, where we were told to... Well, wait. As we sat there waiting Happy went and got us each a cup of coffee from a vending machine. Pepper went to ask someone how long it would take, and Happy sat down next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked up at him.

"Did you see him Happy?" I asked and he looked down at me and then nodded.

"He's okay, nothing happened." he said and I stared at him.

"No other guy, _nothing_?" I asked.

"No, no nothing like that." he said and I frowned as I rested my head back on his shoulder.

An hour later I woke up to Happy lightly shaking my knee. "_Hm_?" I asked looking up.

"We can go see them now." Pepper said and I stood up, walking with her and Happy to the room Bruce and Tony were in. Tony was asleep- or unconscious, either one and had an IV of drugs running into his arm, Bruce was laying on the opposite hospital bed, a doctor was there flashing a light in front of his eyes.

"I'm _fine_." he was insisting.

"_Bruce._" I sighed as Pepper ran to Tony's side. Bruce looked over to me and I walked over to him quickly. He held his arm out, sitting up more and I sat down on the side of his bed. "Honey, what happened? Are you okay?" I asked as I cupped his face, looking him over.

"I'm okay." he said with a small nod. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" I looked over at Tony, Pepper was holding his hand and talking to him softly.

"Excuse me Miss-"

"No, no, Dr. Roberts, she's my wife." Bruce said to the doctor. She sighed and nodded before looking at me.

"Mrs. Banner, I'm afraid I'm going to have to finish my examination." she said and I looked at her.

"Of course, I'm sorry." I said and she nodded. I moved to the chair next to his bed, but continued to hold his hand tightly. He laced our fingers together and lifted my hand up so he could kiss my knuckles. She watched us, and then cleared her throat before she capped her pen.

"Mr. Banner you can go in the morning." she said and then nodded to me. I got up and jumped onto his bed.

"You have got so much explaining to do." I hissed to him. He looked up at me and gave me a small smile. I groaned and then leaned in and kissed him. "You scared me." I said and he touched my hand, his other hand cupped my face and led me back to him, pulling me into another gentle kiss.

"I'm sorry." he said gently as I rested my forehead against his. Tears were rolling down my face at that point. "It's okay." he said softly, brushing my tears away with his thumb. "I'm okay."

"I know you are." I said as I hit his arm.

"Ow, okay, I deserved that." he said and grabbed my hand, stopping me from hitting him again. "Who's with the girls?" he asked.

"Dallas and Felipe, who do you think?" I asked, pulling my hand away.

"Are you… Drunk?"

"Yes!" I said and he laughed, before scooting to the side of the bed, letting me lay down with him. "What did you do to him?" I whispered.

"Nothing he didn't ask me to do." he whispered back, wrapping his arm around me.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"It means, when HAMMER catches up to him, they're going to have a shit fit." he said softly. He kissed my forehead and I looked at him before he looked to Happy. "Happy, take her home." he said and I looked back at him.

"Bruce I-"

"Go home honey." he said softly. "I love you; I'll see you in the morning." Happy helped me off of the bed, and I looked at Bruce, feeling slightly shocked.

"Bruce, I can't go home, not if Hammer is looking for you two-"

"Worry not, Small one. Your husband shall not be harmed." I turned around and smiled seeing Thor and Steve Rogers.

"Hey guys." Bruce said softly.

"Dr. Banner," Steve said walking in. "Natasha and Clint are going over the building with a fine tooth comb." he looked down at me. "You okay?"

"No." I sighed. I looked at Bruce and walked over to him, and kissed him one more time. "I love you." I said and he smiled toughing my hand.

"I love you too." he said gently. "I'll see you in the morning." I smiled and nodded before I stepped back towards Happy who was leading Pepper out of the room too.

"Stay over tonight." I said to Pepper who nodded. "Keep an eye on them guys." I said to Thor and Steve.

"Don't worry Minnie. It'll take a lot to get through us." Steve promised with a smile. I smiled at them and then nodded before I let Happy take me and Pepper home. By the time we got out of the hospital the sun was raising, and when we got home Dallas and Felipe were passed out on the couch. I woke them up and told them everything before Pepper and I went upstairs and passed out on my bed.

* * *

"Tony, you're sure this is the only way?" Bruce asked and Tony nodded.

"The drug, when injected to the arm will take about twenty minutes to work." Selvig said. "If you want the alibi to work, you need to inject him right before he gets in the car."

"Okay, I got it." Bruce said softly. He took the needle from Dr. Selvig and looked at Tony.

"Let's go." he said and started to walk away. "Oh, and uh, Doc," he looked at Erik. "If this turns out wrong, seal this room. If I don't remember more then what I want to not remember, I don't want to remember any of this, anything could spark my memory of why I'm doing this, and I'll have wrecked a perfectly good car for nothing." he said, before shaking Erik's hand. Erik nodded to Tony and then to Bruce before Bruce followed Tony to the underground garage.

"We're going to be brought to a hospital, so we can't give this to you anywhere they would check." Bruce said as he started to prepare the injection. "Take your shoe off."

"Excuse me?" Tony asked with a frown.

"In Europe a lot of junkies inject themselves between the toes, that way no one sees their track marks." Bruce explained. "The hospital won't check there."

"Are there any other odd places they like to shoot up from?"

"Yeah, under the tongue." Bruce said as he flicked the tip of the needle, getting out any air bubbles.

"Eugh, okay, foot it is." Tony grumbled. Tony put his foot up on the top of the car and Bruce walked over, Tony squirmed as Bruce prepared the area with an alcohol wipe and Bruce shot him a look.

"You're worse than Minnie when I gave her a tetanus shot." he said and Tony raised his eyebrow.

"You gave her a tetanus shot in the foot?"

"No, I gave her a tetanus shot in the ass." he said making Tony look up in surprise. Bruce took that as the perfect time to quickly stick the needle into Tony's foot making him groan lightly. "There it's over. Now stop picturing my wife's ass."

"You don't play fair you know that?" he asked and Bruce nodded. Tony pulled his sock and shoe back on and tied it while Bruce threw away the needle. "Look, uh, Bruce, if you don't want to come with me, I understand. I mean, a guy like you, getting into a car for what you know is going to be a very bumpy ride."

"A guy like me?" Bruce asked and Tony nodded.

"Yeah. A family man." he said and Bruce chuckled.

"No, we're going to need two of us if this is going to work." he said before the door opened and Happy walked in.

"Ready?" he asked and the two scientists looked at each other.

"Waiting on you." Tony said before he hopped into a car and looked at Bruce. "Come on, jump the door. You know you want to." he smiled at Bruce who rolled his eyes, but awkwardly hopped over the car door and settled into the seat. He pulled on his seatbelt as Tony revved the engine and then squealed out of the driveway.

"Tony, you will crash." Bruce said as they sped down the streets, Happy speeding to catch up with them. "It'll probably be best for both of us, considering you decided to drive a convertible, if you don't flip the car at this speed. Or... At all. Preferably."

"You're the one who got into the car." Tony said as he took a sharp turn down a street, and then an instant left, trying to lose Happy. He didn't need to see it happen; he just needed to be there to call 911. They were almost to Stark Tower when Tony's driving got a little worse.

"Tony..." Bruce said hesitantly as his friend shifted.

"Hey, trust me." Tony smiled, though Bruce could see his friend struggling to stay conscious. "We lose him?" Bruce looked behind them after a sharp turn, and nodded.

"Yeah. We lost him."

"Huh, good." Tony nodded, his eyes fluttering slightly. He looked at Bruce, and then at the fire hydrant on the next block. "That look good to you?" he asked and Bruce nodded.

"Looks good." he said, swallowing. Tony jerked the car to the left, squealing the tires slightly, making it look like he lost control of the car, before heading right at the fire hydrant.

"Hey Bruce," Tony said and Bruce looked at him. "Thanks for getting into the car." Tony gave him a small smile and Bruce returned the smile before the front of the car impacted with the fire hydrant hardly. Tony had slowed down some, but a head on collision is a head on collision. The air bags deployed, and there was the feeling of another crash, from the side, someone must have hit them.

Bruce groaned, there was a ringing in his ears; he looked at Tony who was slumped over the steering wheel. He quickly took his pulse, he was alive, the drug had kicked in. Bruce moved his hand slowly to the buckle. He unbuckled his seat and groaned softly. It was a good thing he had taken a stronger than usual hit from the EpiPen tonight, because his heart was beating like crazy.

He could feel the other guy in the back of his head, just aching to come out and crush the fire hydrant, the car, possibly the other car, and most of the street for starters. He opened his eyes when he was sure he was keeping the other guy under control and saw a young blonde girl looking at him, she looked to be around Amanda's age, maybe a few years older.

"Sir, try not to move." she said to him as he started to get up. "You might have a back or neck injury, you should wait for the ambulance to get here." she said before her eyes flickered to Tony. "Shit, Lana, get the first aid kit!" she ordered. Her voice sounded high pitched and there was a ringing in Bruce's ears. If this wasn't him being a friend, he didn't know what was. The girl was checking on Tony's condition, his hand shot out, and he stopped her from touching him.

"He hit his head." Bruce groaned. "Don't touch him."

"I- I'm training to be a nurse." she said looking at Bruce with wide eyes.

"Hey little girl," Happy was there, Bruce knew that voice. "Step away from the accident." Bruce got out of the car, and steadied himself against the car, before he took a few steps and moved around the car to where Tony's door was open. Another car had rear ended them. Bruce realized as he knelt down that it seemed to be raining.

The Fire Hydrant, he realized. He imagined Tony saying next time they'd aim for a lamp pole, and he almost smiled before he heard the girl arguing. "I'm training to be a nurse, I can help him!"

"Just because you'd like to up your career by being the first on scene nurse to help Tony Stark after a car accident doesn't mean I'm going to not do my job." Happy said as Bruce knelt down in front of Tony. He checked his head for any signs of cuts or bruises, Bruce had to wipe what felt like water from his face as he checked Tony, a glimpse at the back of his hand told him it was blood running over his eye. He had a head injury, great, those bled the worst. He took a package of gauze from the girl's first aid kit and held it to his head, his head ached when he heard the sirens, the paramedics got out and went to Tony instantly, a second bus was called and they tried to load him on, but he refused to move until he saw Tony taken safely to the first ambulance.

He could feel the other guy, he wasn't trying to get out though, he seemed... Well if Bruce was honest, he seemed worried about Tony. He knew the other guy had taken a liking to Minnie, it was the reason he never attacked her when he was upset, but to realize the other guy was concerned about Tony, that honestly surprised him.

_'I guess it's true what they say. You never really know yourself.'_ Banner thought, and then another thought came to him, one the other guy shared. '_Minnie is going to kill me when she finds out about this...'_ he smiled lightly and lay back on the stretcher. _'She can only kill you if you're alive Banner._' he reminded himself, Minnie's reaction and how Tony would be when he woke up were still weighing heavily on his mind.

* * *

**_Mark Ruffalo is so cute. After all of the craziness of today I watched 13 Going on 30, and it made me feel a little better. I love him in that movie. I mean, I love him in everything, but he's just so darn cute in that._ **

**_Please review._**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hey ya'll! I'm throwing a nice twist in here at the end, since I know how much you all love those, however, if you read my Agent Coulson one shot- Heart Of Gold- you'll understand this reference before I spell it out for you guys in the next couple of chapters. (So, if you want to get it, check out the one shot, the answer is in there.) I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm sorry if it's not quite to standards, I'm still a little shocked about the guy who died. He was so young. **_

_**Disclaimer: All Marvel characters belong to Marvel. I wish I could write for them... Enjoy the chapter, and please review!** _

* * *

When I woke up the next morning I heard the shower running in my bathroom. I got up and groaned softly at the feeling of my head. I went downstairs and smiled seeing Amanda making breakfast with Felipe. "Did you know Felipe went to cooking school?" Amanda asked and I smiled.

"It doesn't surprise me." I said. He handed me a glass of water and two aspirins, I smiled gratefully as I took them, and drank the entire glass of water.

"Where's Daddy?" Kayla asked from her seat at the table.

"Honey, daddy was in a car accident last night." I said and her eyes grew wide. "He's okay, but he had to sleep at the hospital last night."

"Is that how come Pepper slept over last night?" she asked and I nodded.

"Yeah sweetie, Tony was in the accident too. We're going to go to the hospital to pick up Daddy, so why don't you draw him a nice get better soon picture huh?" I asked and she nodded before she abandoned her bowl of cereal and ran upstairs.

"You can get Bruce today?" Dallas asked as I sat down at the table. I nodded and Felipe set a plate down in front of me. I smiled at the eggs and bacon in the shape of a happy face.

"I know you only eat it when you are depressed, but the grease will help with the hangover." he said.

"You know what else helps with hangovers?" Dallas asked suddenly. "Red Bull." he went to the refrigerator and pulled a 12oz can of red bull out and put it in front of me.

"That is disgusting." Felipe said as I cracked it open and took a long drink of it and then ate a piece of bacon.

"Ah, Felipe, this is _sooooo_ good." I groaned and he smiled lightly, but still looked disgusted. After I finished my breakfast, Pepper came downstairs looking fresh faced and ready to face the day. Even though facing the day consisted of going to the hospital to check on her husband's condition. I got up and wordlessly went upstairs to shower, and get ready to face the day. By the time all of us were ready I had wrestled Kayla into one of her new dresses, brushed her hair and done it up with a cute bow I knew would most likely be decimated by the end of the day. She had drawn two pictures and was following me around asking me a million questions about the hospital.

"Oh look, Phil is here, go find Amanda." I said to her when Phil walked into the house. She ran off to find Amanda and I sat down on the stairs with a small sigh.

"Min-" I held my finger up to stop him. He stayed silent for a minute while I took a few deep breaths and then I lowered my hand and opened my eyes with a smile.

"Sorry Phil. It's been a long morning and I'm a little hung over." I said. He smiled lightly and nodded before he held out his hand. I took it and he pulled me off of the stairs.

"I'm here to escort you to the hospital." Phil said and I nodded.

"Yeah, I guessed." I said as I covered my eyes with my hand. I let out a sigh and then nodded. "I need my sunglasses." I said and he smiled lightly.

"Phil?" a female voice asked and I looked around him. A girl a few years younger than myself was standing there, she had blonde curly hair and looked a little nervous.

"Heather," he turned to her and held out his hand. She walked over, slipping her hand into his and smiled at me. "Minnie, this is Heather Monroe, Heather, this is Minnie Banner."

"It's nice to meet you," she said shaking my hand. "Phil has told me so much about you."

"Well it's nice to meet you too." I smiled at her.

"I guess I really should thank you, Phil says that if you hadn't told him to go for it, he never would have... Well, gone for it." she shrugged with a smile and I nodded slowly.

"You're the painter, right?" I asked and she nodded with a smile. "That's right, good job Phil, she's way cuter than the cellist." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"Thanks." he said shortly while Heather shot him a questioning look. I mouthed _'tell you later_' and she grinned. "Is Pepper here, is she ready?" he asked and I nodded.

"Pep! Phil's here." She came into the hall with Amanda and Kayla who had- of course- managed to mess up her hair. I sighed and knelt down, fixing the bow and then took her hand and we followed Phil out to the car.

Happy was waiting at the hospital when we got there, he opened the car door for us, and did the same as before, hurried us into the hospital through the reporters who were dying to get a comment.

"Pep, we should make a statement." I said and she nodded.

"I know, I wanted to get the girls inside first." she said and I smiled lightly. "Girls, stay right here with Happy." she said and they nodded as we turned and walked back outside.

"Mrs. Stark, Mrs. Stark!" people were shouting as we walked outside.

"I haven't seen the doctor today, but I'm told Tony is in stable condition, we would like to thank you for your interest, but we ask that you please let him heal in peace. The same goes for Dr. Banner and his family, who will be released today, though again, we ask that you please let us heal in peace." Pepper said to the reporters.

They took some more pictures and I nodded to them before I walked into the hospital. We went to the room Tony and Bruce were in and I was surprised to see Tony still asleep. Bruce was up, and wearing a pair of scrubs, he was leaning over Tony's bed, checking his pupil reaction.

"Why hasn't he woken up?" I heard Natasha asking as we pushed open the door. They grew silent as we walked in, Makayla ran over to Bruce instantly and he picked her up, letting her hug him tightly.

"Mommy said you were in a accident." she said and he nodded as he put her down on his bed.

"Yeah, I was." he nodded. "But I'm okay now." he said, and turned around only to be hugged tightly by Amanda. "I'm alright." he laughed lightly. "Little bruised up, but I'm okay." he said as he hugged her back.

"You scared us." she muttered before she let go of him and walked over to Tony with Pepper. I walked over to Bruce and kissed him gently.

"How is he?" I asked and he sighed.

"He's stable." he said softly. "But he hasn't woken up."

"What does that mean?" Pepper asked.

"It means..." Bruce said hesitantly.

"It means what we did is working." a voice said from the doorway. We turned and saw Erik Selvig walking into the room. "How long did it take?"

"About twenty minutes." Bruce said while everyone stared at them in horror.

"What happened?"

"A little disorientation, slurred speech, what we guessed would happen." he said. "He held on until he saw the fire hydrant."

"Okay." Selvig pulled a small notebook from his pocket and wrote it down before he went to check Tony's eyes like Bruce had done already. "Uh, you, young lady, take the children to the gift shop." Selvig said to Heather who looked at Phil in surprise and he nodded.

"Honey, go with Heather." I said to Kayla who held her arms out to Amanda. Amanda picked her up and smiled gently at me.

"Bye Daddy." she said.

"I shall accompany them." Thor said standing up. Everyone waited until they left before anyone spoke again.

"Call me crazy, but I think we're missing something here." Steve said standing up.

"This wasn't just an accident." Selvig said and I looked at Bruce. "We are in the process of... Erasing Tony's mind." I covered my mouth with my hand and Bruce nodded.

"HAMMER," Phil said. "Has been trying to get the information from the Superhero Registration act, so they can push the Fifty State initiative. SHIELD had Tony create a software to keep the information under lock and key, well, when HYDRA attacked the Banners, we knew that we had been compromised. Tony destroyed the technology, had every file burned, hacked every government system we could get him into, and wiped everything he could find. Problem is, when they got some of Dr. Banner's DNA, it was with a weapon, made from an element we were unaware of." Phil continued. "Probably something left behind from the attack on earth; lord knows people have been doing dumb things with that stuff."

"Like those girls that decided to rob banks with the blasters?" Natasha asked with a small scowl.

"Yeah, or like the armor being sold to other governments on the black market." Clint nodded.

"Needless to say, Tony realized what we were up against. After a few less than encouraging meeting with Norman Osborn, Tony realized if they can hurt the Hulk, they could get the information they wanted."

"So he decided to wipe his brain?" Pepper asked in horror from where she was sitting with Tony's unconscious form.

"He knew he had to do something." Erik said looking at her. I looked down and Bruce lightly touched my hand. I looked up at him and he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." he said softly. "But Tony made me swear."

"But, but he'll be okay, right? He'll remember me and Happy and everyone, right?" Pepper asked.

"We don't know Pepper." Erik said softly. "We hope he will, but otherwise, we may have to establish the last thing he remembers and then go from there."

"Well, when will he wake up?"

"We don't know." Erik muttered. She let out a long sigh and looked down at Tony with tears rolling down her face. I detached myself from Bruce and walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her in a comforting hug. She hugged me back and I looked at the Avengers.

"So what are we going to do about HAMMER?" I asked and everyone looked at me. They were silent, I knew they had been wondering the same thing, but no one wanted to ask.

"We're going to fight back." Steve said suddenly and everyone looked at him. "HAMMER, HYDRA," he said. "They're bullies. And I don't know about you guys, but I don't like bullies."

"That's a good point captain." I said as I stepped away from Pepper. "But the government created HAMMER to enforce the fifty state initiative. That means that those training camps are already being set up..."

"We're going to need some help." Natasha said after a moment.

"Leave that to me." Phil said simply. "The main thing is you guys. When HAMMER finds out what Tony's done, the shit is going to hit the fan and fast." he looked at us. "You'll all be fugitives."

"Let us worry about that when we get to it." Clint said from where he was sitting with Natasha. "What we need to worry about it him." he nodded to Tony.

"We should send him back to Malibu." I said and looked at Pepper. "The most likely scenario is going to be him waking up with no idea about any of this. Send him back to Malibu, and if he wakes up and he does remember, good for us, if he wakes up and he doesn't remember, not only will HAMMER have a harder time finding him, but we have an easier alibi for his memory loss. Post Traumatic Stress does wonders to the human psyche."

"And if he suddenly wakes up one morning remembering everything that happened?" Pepper asked and I shrugged.

"Then good for us, but if not, I think we should keep him as far from all this as possible, at least until HAMMER realizes what he's done." I said and Phil nodded.

"I agree with Minnie. Pepper can you have his jet take him like that?"

"Oh please if we can install a stripper pole and a disco ball, I'm sure we can accommodate this." she said. "I'll call the jet and let them know we're moving him when he's safe to be moved." she looked at Bruce.

"He should be okay to be moved." Bruce said. "He doesn't have a head injury or anything like that."

"The only problem is HAMMER keeping us from being able to take off." Pepper muttered softly.

"If you get him out of here, we'll make sure HAMMER doesn't notice." Bruce said confidently.

"How will you do that?" Phil asked and Bruce looked at Steve, then to Clint and Natasha.

"By giving them something else to look at." Natasha said, catching on.

* * *

"Pepper." Phil said as she started to get out of the car at Stark mansion. "When you get back to Malibu I want you to get in touch with one of our head agents out there." he took a small notepad from his pocket and wrote down a name and phone number. "Her name is Agent Bluefox-"

"Oh, Ida, I love Ida!" Heather said and Phil smiled lightly.

"She'll help you out as far as keeping in the loop goes." he said as he handed the paper to her.

"Who is this person?" Pepper asked without looking at the paper.

"She's a good friend, and a founding member of SHIELD."

"A founding member, she must be getting up there." Pepper said softly and Heather smiled.

"By her appearance you'd never guess." she said and Pepper looked at the paper. Her mouth dropped open and she looked back at Phil.

"But this is-"

"I know."

"Does-"

"No, she doesn't know."

"Whose choice is it to not tell her, Director Fury's or hers?"

"It's just never come up." he said simply. "Minnie has no idea how lucky she is... Genetically speaking." he said and Pepper nodded slowly.

"Well do I… Tell her?" Pepper asked and Phil shook his head.

"Doing that at this point is unnecessary. She'll find out what she comes from soon enough."

"What about everything with us?" Pepper asked and Phil cocked his head slightly. "By the sounds of it, HAMMER and HYDRA- I mean, it sounds like they want to start a war."

"That's exactly what they want Pepper." He said and she sighed.

"Leave it to Tony to sleep through the end of the world." She muttered and he gave her a small smile. "I feel like I'm never doing enough."

"Pepper, you're keeping Tony Stark safe. That's more than enough." He said and she nodded before he started the car up again. "Get Tony to California, and give Agent Bluefox a call." He ordered before he pulled out of the driveway, leaving Pepper to stare at the phone number, before she turned and walked into the house.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey ya'll! So here's chapter 15, no Tony, I'm sorry, but he is mentioned. No, we get to see a lot of HAMMER and HYDRA, and we get to see a little of Bruce's past. He's quite hesitant to talk about it, I'm sure you can understand. Anyways, I hope ya'll enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters. If I could own one, it would be Bruce. =)

* * *

"Sir," Norman looked up at the young man who had just burst into his office. So far it had been a good day.

His coffee wasn't burnt, he hadn't needed to have anyone towed from his parking spot, Brian and Fleischer had apparently had a breakthrough, and Tony Stark was apparently in a coma.

Okay, the last thing was a little bit of an inconvenience, but only because Nick Fury managed to get a black superhero to say the registration act was the next step to slavery, which made a lot of people very unhappy and worried about being considered politically incorrect.

Sigh. Politics.

"Sir," the young man said again breathlessly.

"What is it, Agent... Whatever?" he asked sharply.

"It's the Hulk sir." he said and Norman waited for the boy to continue.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?" Norman asked and the kid jumped. "What about him!"

"Well he- He's... Freaking out!" the kid threw his hands up. "He's at the ship yards, being all... Green and big and stuff." he shrugged, looking upset.

"What the hell set him off?" Norman asked as he jumped up and switched on the news.

"We're not sure." the kid answered the obvious rhetorical question. "How do you think he itches his back like that?" Norman slowly looked at him and the kid looked back, suddenly growing nervous again.

"Why don't you make yourself useful, and get the car?" Norman asked, he was seething with anger. The young agent ran off and Norman scowled when he saw the Avengers trying to calm their big green friend down.

* * *

"What are they playing at?" Norman asked Leona who was moving around her office.

"It was a distraction you idiot." she scoffed as she went to the closet and opened the doors. "Bring me that chair." he looked over at the chair she was pointing at and then brought it over. "All of this bitching and whining, and you still won't do the hard job." she said as she stood up on the chair, and pushed at the ceiling. Part of it moved and Norman watched with interest as she pulled herself into the ceiling.

"And what is the hard job?" he asked loudly.

"We work together for the same reason." she said from in the ceiling. "We want the perfect soldier, and you want the perfect system. It only makes sense to combine forces. However, I am finding you to be not much of a source. You are... Childish- and safe. Who was it that collected the Hulk's DNA? Us. Who was it that found the woman's DNA? Us. You are an idealist Norman. You court power but you do not think of the consequences. You leave all of the dirty work to me." she handed something down and he took it, he set it down, and caught her by her slim waist as she slid out of the attic. He pressed her up against the wall, holding her there with his hips as his lips got to work on her neck and collarbone. "I don't mind, I like the dirty work," she continued, as if she didn't feel his mouth on her skin. "But don't pretend to be naïve."

"What do you mean?"

"While you were fascinated by the show the Hulk and his little friend put on, you failed to notice the missing Avenger. Tony Stark's plane took off from Laguardia five minutes after the Hulk started to destroy an empty warehouse." she scowled as she looked down at him. "You are pathetic." she said casually as he slowly backed away.

"I- I need to go to LA." he said in realization. "Tony can't hide from me- I know he knows-"

"Good luck." she scoffed. "Hans got Tony's medical records from the hospital after his little "Accident"," she used finger quotes as she picked up the long case Norman had helped her bring down. She brought it to her sparse desk and put it down, opening it she smiled at the long rifle. "They say," she said as she opened up what looked like a poster tube. "He has amnesia, from the shock." she looked at him and he stared at the wall, no emotion on his face.

"That little shit..." he whispered. "He- He wiped his mind?" he looked at Leona who rolled her eyes.

"Welcome to the game Norman," she said as she dismantled the rifle and put the pieces of it into her poster tube.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, is the real problem? Are you not always upset about him blocking your attempts to get to Stark, or going to the summit with some reason for why you are wrong and he is right, he brought them together, and without him, they will all crumble. I am going to take care of the problem, you will not." she said as she closed the tube and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "

"You're going to kill Nick Fury?" Norman asked softly and she put the tube over her shoulder, adjusting the strap.

"Since you obviously won't do it. Apparently I must." she said before she started to walk out of the office. Norman caught her arm, and turned her back to him, pulling her into a long kiss. She didn't respond, just stood there until he pulled away. As soon as he did, she turned and walked out the door. He was left there in her office, before he smiled. By this time tomorrow, everything would be right on track.

* * *

"Agent Hill," I said to the approaching SHIELD agent from where I was sitting at an outdoor cafe, a few days after Bruce and the Avengers had put on their little show, successfully getting Tony out of New York City. "Please sit down."

"Minnie, I think it's time you got to know your case worker." Agent Hill said.

"Where's Director Fury? Doesn't he usually decide these things?" I asked and Maria sighed.

"Director Fury is... Unavailable." Maria said softly and I took a moment to look her over. This was the first time I had seen her in real clothes, and not the SHIELD uniform. She was wearing a pair of gray slacks, and a white short sleeved button down shirt with little poufy sleeves. I smiled lightly at that, it added a very feminine touch to a woman I guess I never really thought of as a woman, but always as a SHIELD agent.

"Agent Hill, what's happened?" I asked and she sighed lightly.

"Norman Osborn knows what happened." she said softly and I sighed gently.

"Agent Hill." We both turned to see Bruce walking over. He had gone to the bathroom right before she made her presence known. "What's going on?"

"Norman knows." I said softly and he sat down.

"SHIELD Agents are being arrested left and right, you all are now considered fugitives," her eyes flickered to the waitress who was talking to someone.

"You're kidding." I said softly and she shook her head.

"Directory Fury was shot last night." she said softly and I felt my jaw drop.

"Is he okay?" Bruce asked and Hill shook her head.

"No, he- He's alive. We've sent him away, to an undisclosed location. But HAMMER and HYDRA, along with the summit, they all think him dead." she answered.

"Who- Who's the summit?" Bruce asked and she shook her head.

"They're a group of world leaders and diplomats who make the decisions about our work." she said. "They're the ones who leaked information on your location, they're the ones who created HAMMER and put Osborn in charge and they're the ones who have no idea HAMMER is working with HYDRA. They think they're working to shut down HYDRA." she muttered softly. "Before he was injured, Nick- Directory Fury, he told me it was time for you to know your caseworker. We know you're wanted, he's written you up as fugitives who are evading questioning, and well, they're trying to pin Director Fury's death on the Avengers." she explained. "We think your best bet would be to go to Canada."

"Okay, what about our caseworker, if it's so important." I asked and she nodded.

"It is. She's in California; you need to go to her first. We can get you transportation, but it will be a car. You're going to have to go under the radar. In California, get rid of your car, you caseworker will help you get to Canada."

"How do we find her?"

"She'll find you." she said and stood up. "I've already spoken to the others. They're all on board, you'll travel together."

"Together?" Bruce asked hesitantly. "Isn't that a bad idea? I mean, if they catch us, they catch all of us."

"If they catch you," she said looking at him. "It'll be that much more of a fight to stop you." she looked from him to me. "There are safe houses on the way, you will stop at them, check in with our agents across the country, they will give you the next part of your itinerary, and you will go." she said and I nodded.

"Okay." Bruce said.

"What about the girls?" I asked softly and he looked at me, thinking about it.

"Well, it will be educational." he said with a shrug.

"Oh sure Bruce, it'll be all 'oh hey kids, this is how you evade suspicion from the police and the insane government who thinks that all superheroes and mutants are the devil's puppets'." I said and he rolled his eyes before he looked at Agent Hill who looked like she was holding something back.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Director Fury- he told me not to tell you, but you deserve to know..." she bit her lip, looking slightly concerned.

"What?" he asked and she sighed.

"It's your father," she said and his hand instantly found mine.

"What _about_ him?" he asked; his voice tense.

"Norman had him released. He's most likely working with HYDRA." she said softly. Bruce just stared at her for a long, tense moment, before he stood up.

"Bruce-"

"No." he said simply.

"Bruce honey-"

"I'm sorry, uh, your credit card didn't go through." the waitress said suddenly walking outside. I looked at Agent Hill who cleared her throat.

"That's fine." I said as I pulled a few bills from my wallet. "Keep the change."

"Oh, uh, I can get change, it'll just take a second." the waitress said pointing her thumb over her shoulder. I reached over and plucked my credit card from her, she tried to hold onto it, but I managed to get it and shoot her a dark glare, making her retreat inside before I turned to Bruce. I put my hand on his arm and he looked at me, his eyes were bright green. I bit my lip lightly before I stepped in, putting my hands on his waist and looking up at him.

"He doesn't need to come out right now." I said softly in his ear. "It's okay." I felt his grip on my arms tighten slightly before I tilted my head up and lightly kissed his chin. "We need to go, and we can't go if he comes out." I whispered to him. He looked down at me and I reached up to cup his face with one hand. His eyes were fading from green to brown and back again until he leaned down and kissed me. When he pulled back, his eyes were normal again. "Let's go." I said and he nodded.

"Mrs. Banner, if I may..." Agent Hill said and I looked at her. "Stay in the mansion for the night. It's basically a fortress. We'll get in touch with step one of your evac. plans, okay?" she asked and I nodded.

"Okay." I said softly, and then paused. "With Fury out, does that make you Director?" I asked and she sighed.

"Temporarily." she said and I smiled as I shook her hand.

"Thanks for everything _Director_ Hill." I said and she gave me a very small smile before I grabbed Bruce's hand and we walked to the curb. I hailed a cab and we got in, he had his arm wrapped around me tightly.

"Pack what you need," he said as we walked into the house. "And do it fast." he continued. I went upstairs and quickly started packing my clothes into a small duffle bag before I ran to Kayla's room; I packed her things and then went to Amanda's room and did the same for her. Amanda and Kayla were upstairs on the roof where there was a pool. As I finished packing I walked into the bedroom in time to see Bruce take a double dose off his EpiPen.

"Honey," I said softly and he looked at me. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked and he looked back down at himself.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said and I walked over to him. I gently kissed the area on his arm, where he had given himself the shot and then looked up at him. He stared down at me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "My father," he said softly and I stared up at him. "My father is a lunatic." he said and I felt his grip on my shoulder tighten. I touched his hand and he let me to the trunk at the bottom of the bed. We both sat down on it and I waited for him to continue.

"When I was a kid, my mother was very attentive; but my dad took her out, made her work with him, and did almost anything he could to keep her from me. Uh, my father hated me, he grew to hate my mother, and soon that hate became physical, fueled by displaced anger, and a lot of alcohol." I touched his hand quickly and he looked down at me. I squeezed his hand lightly and he took a breath before he continued. "My mother decided to leave one day, and my father decided to become a widow that day." he said and I felt tears rising in my eyes. He squeezed my shoulder and I sighed gently.

"So wuh- what happened?" I asked after a long minute or two of silence.

"He uh, he told me if I testified, I would go to hell- mind you, I was a child, I was still scared of the idea of hell." he said holding his hand up and I smiled gently. "So, I refused to talk, I said I didn't know what happened, I lied to the courts, and kept my father out of jail." he cleared his throat and then continued. "Not for long though, I can tell you that. He may have been a genius, but he was an idiot, he went out, got drunk and boasted to everyone about how he got me to keep my mouth shut, and how he got away with... What he did. There were three off duty cops in the bar. He's been in the state hospital ever since." he finished and I sighed softly. I didn't say anything, I didn't need to say anything, he just needed me to be there for him while he told me what had happened.

"They uh, they won't be looking for you." he said suddenly and I looked at him. "You know that right? They want us. You- You don't have to go, you could stay here you know." he said as he lightly ran his thumb over my hand. "I'd understand." he said softly, before looking up, searching my eyes with his brown ones.

"Bruce," I said as I put my hand over his. "HYDRA kidnapped me, and tried to get our daughter's DNA. I'm pretty sure they still want said daughter's DNA." I paused and then cleared my throat. "Do you- Is that what you want Bruce?" I looked up to him. "Do you... Want to leave us?" I asked and his eyes grew instantly.

"No, no, I just want you to be safe." he said and I smiled at him.

"I only _feel_ safe when I'm with you." I said and he smiled. "But if you want us to go, you let me know." I said and he shook his head.

"Till death, remember?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer. He kissed my forehead lightly, then leaned down, and caught my lips with his. I kissed him back before he pulled away and got up. He looked into my bag and then looked at me skeptically. "When are you going to need these on the road?" he asked as he pulled a pair of heels out of my bag.

"No, Bruce, please, I _need_ them." I pleaded as he started digging through the bag. "No, honey, don't- I _need_ that too!" I protested as he started to remove several items from my duffel bag.

* * *

"Could you guys work any slower?" Norman demanded as he moved through the large lab, towards where Brian was working on a DNA sample.

"Listen to me, do not bother him." Dr. Fleischer said as Norman stormed up to Brian Banner.

"Well?" he demanded and Brian's eyes caught the large flash Norman was holding. He looked up at Norman, before he turned and picked up a remote.

"Congratulations Mr. Osborn, it's a mutant." he said as he turned on the TV screen. Norman's eyes lit up as he looked at the blood cells magnified on the screen.

"You were able to mix his blood with-"

"Oh no sir." he said quickly. "This is her blood." he said and Norman looked at him curiously.

"You crossed their blood?" he asked hesitantly.

"This _should_ be the blood of my grandchild." he said as he looked at the screen approvingly.

"That's very good Dr. Banner." he smiled as he handed the flask to the older gentlemen. "When will you get started making a stable super serum?"

"With this DNA?" Brian scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Excuse me?" Norman asked and Dr. Fleischer frowned.

"Sir, the perfect serum was an idea based off of the idea that the woman, the mother was perfectly normal. After analyzing her blood- Well she's a mutant sir. I mean, not anything obvious... Obviously- It's just; we think she's a Zeta Class mutant. She's got the gene, but nothing to show for it." he shrugged. "Now, we're experimenting on crossing Dr. Banner's blood with the blood from another donor..."

Osborn stopped listening and stared at the blood sequences on the screen. He cocked his head slightly and stared at it for a long moment, before he turned and looked at Fleischer, pulled the gun from where he kept it under his jacket and shot him in the leg. Fleischer shrieked in pain and Brian chuckled from where he was standing, drinking the flask of whisky.

"Make it work." Osborn ordered before he walked out of the room. Fleischer looked up at Brian who was still chuckling with amusement as Osborn walked out.

"Pew pew." he whispered as he pointed his fingers at Osborn like a gun. He walked over to Fleischer and stared down at him for a moment before he handed the German national his flask. Fleischer took it uncertainly and Brian mimed tipping it towards his mouth. Fleischer took a hesitant drink, and let out a small gasp, before he took another drink.

"You a poker man?" Brian asked as he helped Fleisher up.

"No, not really."

"Well, in poker, you _gotta have a poker face_." Brian said simply. "You play it cool; you _never_ let the other guy know what you got."

"This isn't exactly poker Dr. Banner-"

"Same principal when you work with a guy like that." Brian insisted. "Never let him know what you've got. You always let him guess, but keep 'em guessing until you know there's no way for him to win." he took the flask back from Fleisher and ignored the blood as he took a drink, and then got a towel. He handed it to Fleischer while he got what he would need to extract the bullet and sew up the other scientist.

"What should I have told him?" Fleischer asked, unsure to why he was suddenly interested in what the madman he had been forced to work with thought or had to say.

"That's not the question. The question isn't _what do I say_?" he said as he ran his hands under the sink. He took another long drink from the flask, and then handed it to Fleischer who took a drink from it easily. "It's _what don't I say_." he said as he took his belt off.

He wrapped it around Fleisher's leg, above the bullet would and tightened it as a tourniquet. "Ready?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer he plunged a thin pair of clamps into the fresh wound, to dig around for the bullet.

Fleischer's shrieks filled the room, echoing off the walls while Brian hummed quietly to himself.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Hey ya'll! So, does anyone else remember in Thor, Selvig has that line of dialouge when he's talking about SHIELD and he says he once knew a pioneer in gamma radiation until S.H.I.E.L.D. showed up, and then the guy was never heard from again? Sounds an awful lot like Bruce huh? Well, I decided to use that in this chapter. Also, for those of you who didn't read the Coulson one shot, you get to find out the identity of Agent Bluefox! There's a sweet part with Amanda and Kayla, and a whole lot of Avenger silliness, because I think they need a little silliness right now. It also nods to some of your favorite advice from 'Which Me Do You Like?' about pillow fights and the son of Odin, but you'll see. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters, and I don't own the lyrics to "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"**_

* * *

Ida Strong sat in the porch swing at the Malibu Hills Rest Facility, her fingers of her right hand drummed against the wood on the arm rest as her feet slowly pushed her back and forth. The sun was shining and everything was pleasant, and no one seemed to notice the dark cloud going on in Ida's mind. She felt a buzz come from her pocket and she pulled out what looking like a small slab of glass. She tapped the front and read the message before she shut her eyes. She let out a small sigh, and then typed a response, before one of the nurses walked over.

"Hello Mrs. Strong." she smiled and Ida put the phone away. She looked the young woman over and realized this was the new girl Estelle had been telling her about, the girl who treated everyone like they had dementia or Alzheimer's, like Roy Richards. Poor Roy. "It might be a good idea for you to come inside now." the young girl said as if speaking to a three year old.

"Well that sounds nice, but I'm waiting for someone." Ida said simply.

"Oh, who are you waiting for?"

"A friend of mine." Ida said growing slightly annoyed with this girl. It may be time to check herself out of retirement if this was the way she was going to be treated all the time.

"Well why don't we go wait inside, and maybe you friend will come later." the girl said with an over exaggerated nod. Ida noticed a sports car pulling up and she smiled seeing the young red haired woman getting out of the car. bRBrBR "Mrs. Strong!" Pepper Stark said with a smile.

"Pepper, Dear, you know you can call me MeeMaw!" she said as Pepper walked over. "Come, give MeeMaw a hug." she said and Pepper grinned as she hugged Ida.

"MeeMaw, are you ready to go?" Pepper asked and she nodded.

"Oh of course I am." she said, before she looked at the nurse. "This is my friend Pepper. We'll be going now." she said before she walked down the stairs to the car. Pepper opened the door for MeeMaw and she got into the car, Pepper closed the door and went around to the driver's seat and got into the car, the nurse watching as they pulled away.

"Mrs.- MeeMew, is it true?" Pepper asked hesitantly.

"What?" MeeMaw asked, and Pepper handed over a paper. MeeMaw opened it and then smiled. "Oh that." she said, a moment later Pepper looked back at her and nearly screamed as she swerved the car slightly. The old woman had just lost about forty years in fourteen seconds, now looking like she was fifty years old.

"Eyes on the road!" MeeMaw laughed and Pepper looked back at the road, stunned and a little perturbed.

"And Minnie doesn't know any of this?" Pepper asked.

"Oh no." MeeMaw sighed. "My husband, he was one of Howard's friend Darren, he understood there was a risk marrying someone like me, and he did it anyway. We didn't know what would happen with Nate, he could have gone either way, and, he took after me."

"He's a-"

"Honey, if you ever met Darren, you'd know." she said with a small chuckle. "Take the next exit." Pepper did as she was told and MeeMaw directed her to a sparsely homed neighborhood with large yards. They got to one house, a tall white Victorian built house and MeeMaw smiled.

Pepper pulled into the driveway and parked as MeeMaw reached into her bag and pulled out a huge ring of keys. She led Pepper to the front of the house and found the right key instantly. She unlocked the door and led Pepper into the house. It was surprising seeing how easily MeeMaw moved now and Pepper found herself still trying to help the woman even though it was pretty obvious she didn't need the help.

"Why don't you go put the kettle on?" MeeMaw asked and Pepper did as she was told, MeeMaw came into the kitchen a little while later holding a leather bound book. She sat down at the kitchen table and Pepper brought over two cups of blueberry tea. MeeMaw patted the chair next to her and Pepper sat down, while MeeMaw opened the book. It was a photo album, the first picture being of herself and a young man getting married.

"Is that Darren?" Pepper asked with a smile.

"That's him." she said and smiled at the picture. "He was so nervous, his hands were shaking like mad when he put the ring on my finger." she chuckled and patted the picture. "You can see how Nate took after me." she chuckled and Pepper smiled. "Genetically speaking of course."

"Yeah." Pepper smiled. Darren was a man not of great height; he stood about three inches taller than MeeMaw who was a mere five foot three. Nate on the other hand was a strong six feet five inches tall, and very thick in the shoulders, and body, giving him an appearance similar to Thor's. That was probably why Minnie wasn't intimidated by the god's physique when she first met him, thinking him only to be built like her father. "He was a boxer," Pepper said as they continued to look through pictures.

"One of the best in his weight class." MeeMaw said as she looked at the picture with a proud smile. "He was in high school when he met Cecile; he gave up his career, and devoted his time to her." MeeMaw said and Pepper looked at her curiously.

"Were you upset?"

"No. We were given free will to do with as we please." she said. "Darren wanted Nate to join SHIELD, but I knew he was serious about her. We never ended up telling him about SHIELD." she explained. "Nor did we tell him about me. I think... If one of the kids had displayed signs of a high level mutation, then we would have told them, but considering they didn't, we didn't think it crucial to shatter their world." she smiled. "But Simone, she's my special girl." she said and Pepper looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Minnie- Simone's a mutant?"

"She has the gene, and I've always felt she has a heightened sense of empathy. She constantly shoves aside her own emotions and safety to put the safety and emotions of her loved ones ahead of hers and she has a real knack for getting herself out of tight situations. Have you ever noticed that Pepper?"

"I have." Pepper nodded. "I just... I didn't realize it was a mutation."

"It's a trait I'm sure you wish more people had." MeeMaw teased and Pepper smiled. "How is Anthony?"

"He thinks he just got back from the Middle East." Pepper sighed. "We've led him to believe he's suffering from PTSD."

"I'm sure he loves that." MeeMaw scoffed. Pepper sighed as she picked her mug of tea and sipped it.

"It hurts lying to him like this." Pepper said softly. "I mean, I understand lying to protect him, and everything, but..." she shrugged and sipped the tea.

"He doesn't remember the wedding."

"No." Pepper sighed lightly.

"Which means he doesn't remember my granddaughter either."

"Nope." she sighed.

"Which is really a shame because she's coming back." MeeMaw said and Pepper looked at her curiously.

"I- I'm sorry?" she asked and MeeMaw stood up. She beckoned for Pepper to follow her to a doorway. There was what looked like a thermostat next to it; one of the old dial ones, MeeMaw adjusted it a few times, spinning it back and forth like the dial on a lock or a safe before the door unlocked.

Pepper looked at the old woman in surprise and MeeMaw opened the door to the basement, she let Pepper in first, Pepper gasped as the hallway lit up, all the way down, the door wasn't just a wooden door, but reinforced with about a foot of metal and a huge locking mechanism. As they got to the bottom Pepper let out another gasp at the sight of a high tech, well lit room before looking to MeeMaw.

"_Welcome back Agent Bluefox_." a computer voice said as the older woman smiled proudly.

"Virginia Stark, welcome to SHIELD." she said before looking back to the room.

* * *

"Mommy?" I heard a small voice say from the doorway. I sat up in bed as Kayla ran over to the bed and I lifted her up. She snuggled into the bed with me and I wrapped my arm around her. "Where's Daddy?" she asked and I smiled as I rubbed her back.

"He's getting ready to go in the morning. He's making sure we've got everything we need." I said softly and she sighed. "Do you want a story or a song?" I asked and she thought for a second.

"A song." she said decidedly.

"What song?" I asked and she smiled.

"Lonesome." she requested and I smiled before I saw Amanda walk into the doorway. Kayla had requested to sleep with her, and she had agreed, saying it would be like a sleepover so when she woke up and Kayla was gone she must have gotten confused.

"Come on in honey." I said and she walked over to the bed and slipped into the covers. "_Are you lonesome, tonight. Do you miss me, tonight. Are you sorry we drifted apart?_" I sang softly to the girls as I continued to rub Kayla's back. "_Does your memory stray to a brighter summer day, When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?_" at that I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, before doing the same to Amanda who smiled lightly. "_Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare? Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there? Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again? Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?_" I softly trailed off knowing Kayla was asleep. "Honey, go ahead and sleep in here." I said to Amanda who nodded, her eyes closed and she was mostly asleep too. "Good night sweetheart."

"Night mom." she mumbled as she rolled over and fell asleep. I stood there for a minute staring down at her before I turned and walked out of the room, turning off the light and I closed the door. I turned and saw Steve Rogers standing against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"I just want to say," I said and he opened his eyes quickly, embarrassed at having been caught. "I apologize for my crappy singing voice."

"No, no, it was nice." he said and I smiled before I wrapped my arm around his waist. He smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we walked downstairs.

We went downstairs to the large living room where the rest of the Avengers were. Natasha was cleaning her guns, and Clint was adjusting the tightness of his bowstring. He tested it by holding out the bow and pulling the string slightly, and then lowered it and started adjusting again. Bruce was sitting there, talking to Erik Selvig who had been staying in the mansion. Steve let go of me and went to sit down on the couch where Thor was sitting, looking slightly lost.

"So," I said awkwardly and everyone looked at me. "Does anyone know where we're going tomorrow?"

"SHIELD is telling us in the morning." Natasha informed me. I nodded and she looked back at what she was doing.

"Hey, quick question." I said. I must have subconsciously touched my stomach or something because Bruce sighed deeply and shook his head.

"You don't have stretch marks." he said and I picked up a pillow from the couch and vaulted it at him.

"I wasn't going to ask that question!" I said with a grin. "_Yes!_" I said as it hit him in the face and fell to the ground.

He looked up and grinned and I laughed before throwing myself to the floor as he sent the pillow right back at me. I crawled behind the couch as he walked around to the other side, all of the Avengers now watching the two of us. He got to the pillow he had thrown as I got to the other side of the couch where Thor was sitting. I reached over the arm of the couch and lightly tugged on the pillow.

The Asgardian lifted his arm and I pulled the pillow down with me. He looked over the couch at me and smiled. I peeked around the couch to see Bruce coming towards me. Erik leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees to watch the little show we were putting on. I quickly moved around the couch to the other side and stood up, quickly and silently moving behind him while he moved to look behind the couch.

I saw Natasha bite her lip with a small grin as I held up the pillow, ready to strike when Bruce suddenly spun around and grabbed me. I shrieked as his hands found my ticklish spots and instantly I was down, laughing hysterically.

"Natasha, Avenge me!" I shouted between giggles. "Help! Get him off!" I pleaded. A moment later Selvig had picked up one of the throw pillows and whacked the side of Bruce's face with it.

"Oh that was low Erik!" he said and I squirmed out from under him.

"That's for not emailing me while you were in Brazil!" Erik laughed. I quickly got hold of my pillow and jumped over the back of the couch; hiding behind Thor who I knew would be a very good choice for my team in the pillow war.

"Bruce, stand down. There is no way to win this pillow conflict." Thor said with an amused smile.

"Just hand her over Thor." Bruce said looking amused.

"Honey, take your glasses off!" I called to Bruce who quickly did as I told, just in time to get pelted with a pillow from the God of Thunder. Before long the linens closet was broken into and all of the pillows made their way to the living room, where we made good use of them.

It was basically me, Thor, Erik and Natasha against Steve, Bruce, and Clint. Thor, bless him, had become the pillow hurling god of pillow war and was totally winning for our side until Steve, Clint and Bruce got together and decided the best way to win was to have Clint distract Thor, Steve engage Erik and Natasha and Bruce to kidnap me. Which he did. I squirmed as he pulled me around the wall, and then pressed me up against it, capturing my lips with his.

"Amanda called me Mom." I said when he pulled back.

"When?" he asked.

"Tonight; not too long ago, Kayla woke up and came to our room and then Amanda woke up and went to find Kayla and I let them fall asleep in our bed- We're going to take their room tonight, and I was saying goodnight, and she just said 'goodnight mom'." I explained.

"Does it bother you?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No, I- I guess I didn't realize it before, but I think I've considered her a daughter for awhile now." I said and he smiled.

"Well, you're not old enough to have a sixteen year old daughter," he said and I made a face. "But, you're an amazing mother to both those girls." he continued. I smiled and leaned forward, kissing him again, before he was taken from the side with a slight yelp. I laughed as Thor lifted me up and brought me back to the living room.

"I have rescued the Maiden of Pillow Wars!" he announced and I laughed as I held onto his shoulders.

I think it was good for us all to have our evening of silliness, getting all of the tension out, because come the next morning, who knew when we would have another chance at some mindless fun.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Hey ya'll! Here's chapter 17, I hope you enjoy! I took my little sister to see the Avengers for the first time tonight, and she loved it. She's a huge Tony Stark fan, but I may have turned her into a Captain America fan, but I do know that she LOVES the Hulk now. We had a great time, I feel lucky to live in a town where they're still playing the Avengers at first run theaters. After we watched it I knew I needed to come home and get another chapter out, so I came home, and I finished writing this chapter, and I am now presenting it to you, and I hope you enjoy. =)_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. I wish I did. Le sigh._ **

* * *

Brian stared at the work in front of him. He stared, but didn't really see. He was thinking about her again.

Rebecca.

He remembered the first time he saw her. Walking down the hall of the science building in college. She looked nervous, apprehensive almost. He could picture that day like it was yesterday. She was young, fresh faced, with not a stitch of makeup on her face, her curly brown hair was pulled back into a half ponytail, but her curls still bounced when she walked, her book bag slung over one shoulder, but a small stack of books held tightly to her chest with a paper on top of them.

It was her first day of classes. Someone bumped into her, sending the books and the paper flying out of her hands. She scrambled for the books, Brian wanted to help, but he didn't, he just stood there. The paper flew away from her with the breeze and found itself a home against Brian's left leg. He bent down and picked it up, he glimpsed at it as he straightened up. Rebecca. Her name was Rebecca.

"Oh-" he looked up as she walked over to him, "Thanks for catching that!" she beamed at him and he nodded as he handed the paper back to her.

"No problem, you look a little overwhelmed." he said as he handed it back to her.

"First day of classes, what can I say?" she asked with a roll of her sparkling brown eyes.

"Well you... Don't want to be late." Brian shrugged and she gasped.

"You're right!" she said and looked at the paper. "Uh, do you know where Professor Lee's class is?"

"Yeah, uh, you go down this hall, take a left, it's at the end of that hall on the right, you won't be able to miss it." BrBRBR "Well, thanks." she smiled and then stuck her hand out. He looked at it for a moment before he slipped his hand into it. "I'm Rebecca."

"Brian."

"Well, Brian, I hope I see you around." she grinned at him and he smiled lightly before she turned and ran down the hallway, her curls bouncing behind her.

Brian growled to himself at the memory. That was not what he needed to be thinking about right now. He continued to work, but as he worked, memories kept coming back. Their first date, at a popular pizza place for students, their first time, moments together with him in the lab, and her working on her work, just moments that didn't mean anything, but at the time meant everything. Brian slammed down his pen earning him an odd look from Fleischer who was writing out a formula on the white board. Brian shot him a look and Fleischer looked back at what he was doing.

He thought back to the day of his accident as he took a drink from his flask. He had been in the hospital for close to a month after that for testing, and even though everyone said he was okay, he knew he was different. Rebecca wanted children, but he wouldn't, not if there was a chance he would pass that along. Unfortunately for him... Fate had a different idea.

Brian took an even longer drink from the flask before he looked at Fleischer. He opened a drawer and pulled a needle and a few small bottles out. He looked at them all and then decided on one. He filled it up, thorazine, a hell of a drug. Brian wondered briefly why it was in the lab in the first place, but assumed they had kept it there in case he was to flip out or something along those lines.

He tapped the end of the needle and walked up behind Fleischer silently, before jabbing the needle into the German scientist's neck. He injected him with enough to knock him out for a three or four hours, which was plenty of time. After Fleischer was unconscious on the ground Brian knelt down and began to pilfer through his pockets. Keys, and a wallet. Brian grinned to himself before he polished off the rest of the flask, and tossed it onto the counter. He spun the keys around on his finger before he slipped the wallet into his pocket and took off the lab coat, and threw it on the counter as well. He walked to the elevator and pushed the button. You would think they would make getting out of there a little harder.

* * *

Bruce woke up suddenly. It was early, just dawn by the very little amount of light creeping through the window. "Jarvis," his voice was rough, and not completely awake. "What time is it?"

"It's five fifteen Dr. Banner." Jarvis replied.

"Is anyone else awake?" he asked.

"Captain Rogers is awake, as is Agent Romanoff, and Agent Barton is just waking up as well." Jarvis replied and Bruce sighed. He looked down at himself, his arm were wrapped around Minnie who had her back to him, her breathing was even and shallow, she was still asleep. Bruce settled back down in the bed and felt Minnie shift against him. He tensed up, worried he had woken her, but she was just moving a little, and then settling. He sighed, resting his forehead against her head.

She smelled faintly like lilies of the valley, a smell that had become comforting to him. It was curious that she wore that scent, he wondered if she knew anything about the toxicity of the actual flower and the effect of the berries, which when eaten, even in small amounts would produce a reduced heart rate. He wondered about that as he absentmindedly started tracing circles on her hip. She stirred lightly, but he didn't notice. It wouldn't surprise him he decided, if she did actually know that about the lily of the valley. That thought drew a small smile to his face, one that grew when she suddenly turned around and kissed him.

He smiled; when he was a kid, he never thought he'd be smiling so easily again. After his mother was killed he had completely shut down. It made high school hard, he was beyond normal intelligence, far beyond it, and he was emotionally shut down. It made him a very easy target for school bullies.

"What are you frowning about?" Minnie whispered, lightly running her thumbs over the corners of his mouth. She gently ran one thumb over his bottom lip and he kissed her thump.

"I'm not frowning." he said softly, as he moved her had so it was gently cupping his face. She smiled and lightly ran her fingers through his curls, before pulling him close to her. Their lips met and he sighed into the kiss. His right hand found its way into her wavy red hair and kept her there for a moment after their kiss ended. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked and he sighed before sitting up.

"Just... All this moving around, dragging you and the girls around all the time." he shrugged. "It's not how I pictured life."

"When is life ever what we picture it to be?" she asked and he smiled lightly. "I didn't picture this either," she continued and he felt a small guilty feeling creeping into his gut and she sat up. "But that's not to say we won't do the best with what we've got to work with? Right?" she smiled. He nodded and she stood up, she went to the pile of clothes on the dresser and changed quickly, before folding the clothes and putting them away. She brushed her hair into a ponytail and picked up a small bottle of spray perfume. She sprayed a little of it in her shoulders as he stood up, she dropped the perfume into the bag and slipped her feet into a pair of flats.

He got up as she walked out of the room to go get the girls up, leaving him standing there, in a field of lily of the valley.

* * *

I got Makayla out of bed and gently shook Amanda. She groaned and rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head, making me do something my mother used to do to me. I yanked the blankets off of her making her groan. She sat up and shot me a glare making me smile.

"Up and at 'em sweetheart." I said with a grin. She sighed and I tossed some clothes at her. I gave her a good swat on the behind as she tried to lay back down she sighed before getting off the bed. I got Kayla changed and dressed and everything before I brought her downstairs. I poured her a bowl of cereal and told her to eat while I brought our bags outside.

"Morning Phil." I said to Coulson who was talking to Natasha, Clint and Steve.

"Good morning Minnie." he said. "Your transportation is on its way."

"What kind of transport are we talking about?" I asked.

"Well, in order to keep you looking as inconspicuous as possible, we got you an RV."

"An RV?" Natasha asked in horror and I shook my head.

"This is revenge for bringing up the cellist in front of the barista, isn't it?" I asked and Phil smiled.

"Come on Minnie. We're all adults here." he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Someone should go wake up Thor." Clint said and everyone somehow looked to me.

"Sure I'll do it." I shrugged as I walked back into the house. I was walking upstairs when I passed Bruce on the stairs.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I've gotta go wake up Thor." I said and he quickly grabbed my wrist, turning me back around.

"That is a very bad idea." he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah well, tell that to your teammates, they seem to think it's a good idea." I said and started up the stairs again. "Go check on your daughter, she's in the kitchen and she's being awfully quiet." I said as I got to the top of the stairs. "Jarvis, what room is Thor in?"

"Third room on the right Mrs. Banner." Jarvis replied.

"Thank you Jarvis." I said softly. I went to the bedroom and knocked on the door. "Thor?" I asked, knocking a little harder. A deep grunt signaled he had heard me. "Thor?" I pushed open the door and tried not to laugh at the sight of the god of thunder in a blanket burrito. "Thor it's time to wake up." I informed him as I went to the bed.

"The night is still upon us." he groaned.

"Jarvis raise the blinds." Jarvis opened the blinds and Thor groaned again.

"Lower the blinds." he ordered.

"I'm afraid Mrs. Banner has authority over me when Mr. Stark is not home sir." Jarvis informed Thor who glared at the ceiling.

"Thor, we have to go. SHIELD is bringing us a vehicle-"

"Mrs. Banner, the SHIELD Agents are at the front gate."

"Let them in Jarvis." I said. "Thor, we should go, now." I said softly. "HYDRA and HAMMER will be coming here looking for us. We are all fugitives now." I said and then stood up. "Let's go." I said and swatted his arm.

"How is it you are so good at persuasion?" Thor grumbled with a small smile.

"I have a three year old daughter, you pick it up." I nodded and left the room as Thor got out of bed. I went downstairs and saw Clint talking with Bruce in the kitchen where Amanda was putting something away. Kayla had her head down on the table, her spoon clutched in her hand. "Bruce?" I asked and he looked over. I nodded at Kayla and he chuckled before he walked over and picked her up. She rested her head against his shoulder and slept soundly in his arms.

"Are you ready?" Clint asked and I nodded slowly.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said softly.

"Amanda? Ready?" Clint asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ready." she sighed.

"Come on then." he said. I paused and grabbed the box of pop tarts from the pantry knowing Thor would want them and then pulled my keys from my pocket. Thor thanked me as I passed him the box of pop tarts on his way out and I looked up at the ceiling.

"Jarvis, when I leave, enforce Security code 11312."

"It will be my pleasure, Mrs. Banner." Jarvis said.

"HYDRA and HAMMER will come here looking for us Jarvis. When they do, I want all of the files and projects sent to my computer and I want it wiped from the house hard drives."

"It already is." Jarvis replied and I smiled.

"The labs are to be sealed as if the Hulk was in there trying to get out."

"Nothing in, nothing out."

"And I want SHIELD as well as the police notified when they come."

"Agent Coulson is on speed dial."

"I'll talk to you when we get to LA Jarvis." I said and the AI spoke with what sounded like a smile in his voice.

"I look forward to it, Mrs. Banner."

"Thank you Jarvis."

"Am I to still enforce security code 5516?" he asked and I smiled.

"If the opportunity presents itself." I said as I grinned.

"Good bye Mrs. Banner, and good luck." With that I shut the door to the house, locked it, and typed in a security code on the touch screen. With that the house was sealed. I walked over to the very nondescript looking RV SHIELD had assigned us and I shot Phil a look, he was smirking when he saw me and I rolled my eyes.

"Just for this," I said as I pointed to it. "I'm going to tell her about when you first met Steve." I said and the smirk fell. I nodded and Phil sighed before he handed a GPS to Clint who had decided he was driving.

"It's been programmed with your destination, your stops and everything." he said to Clint who nodded.

"Thanks." he said, taking it, and then shaking Phil's hand.

"Good luck, all of you." he said before I stepped onto the RV. It was a very wide RV with two couches, a booth table, a kitchenette, a bedroom, and a bathroom. All of our bags had been shoved into the bedroom, in the closet, and Kayla had been put to bed on the large bed in the back. Amanda almost instantly joined her, Erik was sitting on one of the couches with Thor, Natasha was sitting in the passenger's seat, next to Clint, Steve was sitting on the other couch and Bruce was sitting at the table, a pile of folders next to him, one of them open, he was writing on one of the papers.

"What's all that?" I asked as I joined him.

"Hm? Oh, it's all of the work I've done with Tony, the ideas we bounced off each other, the concept design for the EpiPen, things like that." he shrugged, closing his folder.

"No honey, go ahead and keep working." I said waving my hand at him. I held up a book I had taken from Tony's library and he smiled as he opened the folder again and continued to work while Clint started to drive.

We were off, and almost immediately everyone wanted control of the radio.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Hey ya'll! I started to fall victim to my writing... Allergies again, so I started outlining a Captain America story for when I'm finished with this one. But that won't be for a little while, I promise! I also went to the grocery store and found the cutest Avengers bobble head dolls, and since I'm totally broke I could only afford to buy one. There's an adorable little Hulk sitting next to me, watching me while I write now. He's just so darn cute! **_

_**Anyways, here's a chapter I know ya'll have been waiting for. The triumphant return of Tony Stark! If I were you, I'd listen to Aerosmith while reading this chapter. But that's just me. =) Oh, hey, does anyone here watch the Big Bang Theory? I just started watching that for the first time, and I'm totally in live with it! I also love it when I get the things they're referencing, and not just the pop culture. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review! (It makes me update faster)**_

_**Disclaimer: You'd be a fool to think I could be making anything by writing this silly story. You'd also be a fool to believe I own the Avengers or anything Marvel. I pity the fool.** _

* * *

"Hey, Amanda?" I called to Amanda who was sitting in the front seat with Clint.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"Come on back." I said and she walked over to the table where I was sitting. Erik took her place next to Clint while she slid in next to me and I handed her a book and a list of questions I had written up. "What's this?" she asked as she looked over the questions.

"When I was your age, I read this book, and I loved it. I figure, you're not going to school, I'm not going to ignore your education." I said as she read the back of the book.

"So, what, you're homeschooling me?" she asked, looking amused.

"For the time being, sure." I nodded and she smiled.

"What am I going to learn?"

"English, math, French- if you want- uh, I don't know, what else do they teach in school?"

"History."

"I could teach History."

"I can help." Steve said from where he was sitting with Kayla who was coloring.

"Thanks Steve." I smiled and looked back at Amanda. "Anything else?"

"Science."

"I can teach you... Some science." I said slowly. I saw Bruce pause at what he was writing, then start writing again. "I mean, I helped correct enough chemistry papers." I shrugged. Bruce paused again, a little longer this time, but continued to write after the pause.

"You sure?" Amanda asked, catching on.

"Sure," I shrugged with a smile. "How hard could it be?" I grinned as Bruce finally put his pen down and took his glasses off; he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.

"No." he said simply.

"You're such a good chemistry teacher." she said clasping her hands together and grinning at him.

"That's the point, I'm not really a _chemistry_ _teacher_." he said rolling his eyes. "I'm a scientist."

"But you were good at it!" she protested and he sighed.

"You _really_ want to keep learning chemistry?" he asked doubtfully and she sighed.

"Not really chemistry." she said as she sat back up. "I'd like to learn more about mutants and... Mutates."

"I'm sorry?" I asked and she looked at me.

"It's uh, what we call people like Steve." she shrugged and he looked over at her from the couch he was sitting on. "It's people who are special, who have powers, but who weren't born that way." she explained.

"Like the Other Guy?" Bruce asked and she hesitantly nodded. "You want to know how the other guy came into being?" he asked and she looked at him.

"If you want to tell me." she said softly. "I mean I _assume_ it wasn't a mommy hulk and a daddy hulk coming together... In a manner of speaking." she shrugged and Steve looked between the two before Bruce cracked a slight smile.

"We can work our way up to that." he said and then looked back down at his papers. "But for the time being, enjoy your Hemmingway." he said as he put his glasses back on. She smiled and Steve let out a small breath, as did I.

* * *

"What do you mean he's gone?" Osborn asked lowly to Dr. Fleischer. Fleischer looked at him and then held his hands out.

"I mean one moment I'm working on an equation, and the next moment I'm on the floor, my keys and wallet are gone, and so is that psychopath you insisted on having in the lab!" he said.

"Where did he go?"

"You honestly expect me to know the answer to that?" Fleisher asked. "From the moment you brought him here, I have no idea what he's going to do next! He's like a feral animal you find on the street and decide to try and domesticate! He doesn't know how to coexist with humans! He'd be better off back where you found him!" Fleischer let out a long sigh and Leona walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. He touched her hand and looked at her, her dark eyes bore into his and he looked to the side slightly.

"How was he acting before you passed out?"

"Before I passed out? Before he drugged me is more like it!"

"How was he acting?" Leona asked softly.

"Like the drunk he is!" Fleischer said throwing his hands in the air. "If you hadn't kept supplying him with alcohol and gave him the antipsychotics he so desperately needs, maybe he wouldn't be missing!"

"Was he more talkative than usual, did he talk about things he was working on, did he talk about anything?" Norman pressed him.

"He just kept slamming things around and growling." Fleischer said softly, shaking his head.

"Nothing else?"

"He said something about New Mexico..." Fleischer said after a pause. "I- I just remember hearing that before I lost consciousness."

"Thank you, Dr. Fleischer." Norman said after staring at him for a hard time. He turned to Lorena who pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you know where he worked in New Mexico?"

"No, but I can find out." she said simply. He nodded and then turned on his heel and walked out of the lab. She turned to Fleischer and pulled him down to her, kissing him longly. His arms wrapped around her waist and then he finally pulled away.

"Where did he go?" she asked and he smiled lightly as he ran his fingers along her hair, and cupped her face.

"You know me well enough to know when I'm lying and when I'm not. You should also know me well enough to know that your sexual manipulation doesn't work." she narrowed her eyes and he lightly ran his thumb over her lips. He leaned down and kissed her gently before he pulled away and started to work on the equation he was working on before he had been knocked out. She stared at the back of his head for a good moment before she turned and followed Norman out of the room.

"What's he playing at?" Norman asked softly and she crossed her arms as the elevator started moving up.

"I'm not sure." she said. "I need your jet."

"Where are you going?"

"California. At this point, SHIELD would have erased everything on him. There's only one place to get the information I need."

"And just how do you think you're going to get in?"

"Trust me." she looked up at him. He stared down at her for a long moment before he shook his head.

"Never." he said before he pulled his phone out. "Yeah, this is Norman. I need my jet fueled and ready for a flight to Los Angeles. It's a matter of upmost importance. My assistant, Leona Hiss will be flying out. That's all." Her eyes flashed as he called her an assistant, and he smirked before hanging up. "Your flight goes in an hour."

"Good." she said simply. "By the way, do you know anyone at the phone company?" He looked down at her and she stared ahead.

* * *

"You must be from the phone company." Pepper smiled when she opened the door to two technicians.

"Yeah, I'm Merriem Drew, this is Slade." she nodded to the large man behind her and Pepper nodded.

"Pepper Potts, come on in." She led them through the house telling them the problem, while they walked.

"Uh, do you think I could use the bathroom?" Merriem asked softly and then made a sort of urgent face, looking down at herself. "Kind of a uh, female emergency."

"Oh, of course." Pepper said and pointed it out to her. Merriem looked at the hulking Slade who raised one heavily pierced eyebrow at her.

"Slade, you mind getting started?" she asked the scary looking ex con who shook his head.

"Just show me to the lines ma'am." he said to Pepper who nodded. Pepper led him outside and Leona walked over to a computer screen she noticed in the living room. She swiped her hand across it, activating it.

"Excuse me, but you don't have the authority to use that." a cool voice said and she looked up in amusement.

"Mesterséges intelligencia, nem rossz." (_Artificial Intelligence, not bad_.) she muttered to herself, before she started to type on the touch screen, actively pushing the firewall that Jarvis had initiated away from the information she was looking for. As she sifted through the files, her eyes caught something, an address. She smirked to herself. "Nem is olyan könnyű elrejteni most Brian." (_Not so easy to hide now Brian_) She muttered to herself.

"That's very clever. Do you also do Pig Latin?" a voice from behind her asked. She turned around quickly and smiled seeing Tony Stark standing there, holding a bottle of water and watching her. "It's easy, here, listen, 'Uht-way are-hay ou-yay oing-day?'… You know, for someone trying to steal records, you're actually kind of pretty."

"Is that supposed to flatter me Mr. Stark?" she asked, her voice laced with a thick Hungarian accent.

"Take it how you want." he shrugged. "Curious how Hammer finds you people." he shrugged. "How much is Justin paying you?" she smirked deeply and shook her head.

"I don't work for that Hammer." she said as she stepped closer to him.

"Really? Huh, Jarvis, you wrong for once Buddy?"

"You programmed me never to be wrong Mr. Stark." Jarvis replied easily.

"You said she worked for Hammer."

"Yes Sir, but I never said Justin Hammer." Jarvis said.

"What is this, some kind of riddle? She works for Hammer, but not Justin? I'm not into riddles Jarvis." Tony said without taking his eyes off of the girl.

"Oh, Tony, you're up!" Pepper said walking back into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I found this little co-ed sifting through some top secret files." Tony said nodding to Merriem who looked at Slade who was in the doorway.

"Excuse me?"

"Seems our little phone tech knows a thing or two about computers. Jarvis keeps saying something about her working for Hammer too."

"I don't work for them, I work with them." Merriem said and Tony bent over to try to see her face.

"Take the cap off." he ordered and she shrugged before doing as he said.

"Merriem, what's the meaning of this?" Pepper asked, her hands on her hips, looking very much like someone's disappointed mother. Tony, on the other hand had a look of confusion on his face.

"What did you call her?" he asked and Pepper looked back at him.

"Merriem, it's her name, Marriem Drew."

"No it's not..." he said slowly as he stared at her, trying to read her.

"Would you like to check my ID, Mr. Stark?" she asked with a small smile.

"Why would I need to do that, it's a clever fake." he said simply.

"I guess you'll never know who you gave secrets to."

"Jarvis shut you down."

"Not before giving me everything I need. Don't worry, Dr. Banner won't be harmed."

"Doctor... _Banner_?" he asked slowly, suddenly something seemed to click. "Say it's nice to meet me."

"Excuse me?" Pepper asked looking at Tony.

"_Say it's nice to meet me_." he repeated to the girl. She smirked and walked over to him, stopping just inches away from him.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Stark." she said.

"Nicccccce to meet you, Ms. Leona Hiss." he responded instantly, his eyes shut and he stepped back, holding his head while the girl nodded to Slade who shoved Pepper out of the way and the two of them went running.

"Oh! Jarvis, call 911!"

"Forget it!" Tony said. "Forget it, they work for the government."

"What are you talking about?" Pepper asked shakily.

"I'm talking about HYDRA," Tony groaned as he increased pressure on his temples. "That was the head of HYDRA, Leona Hiss. The guy, I don't know him."

"What do you mean she was the head of Hydra?"

"I mean," he said with an aggravated sigh. "We just gave HYDRA Bruce and Minnie's location." he said as he straightened up. "Where's my cell phone?"

"It's on the counter sir." Jarvis replied while Pepper stared at him dumbfounded. He walked over and helped her up and stared down at her for a moment, before he pulled her into a deep kiss. Just as she started to respond he pulled away.

"There'll be time for that later, first, I need to make a phone call." he said as he unlocked the phone.

"Sir, I feel I should tell you-"

"Not now Jarvis."

"But sir, the information they found-"

"Yeah good job on that one buddy." Tony said sarcastically.

"Sir, it wasn't on Bruce." Jarvis said quickly. Tony stopped punching in the number and then walked over to the computer screen he had found Leona in front of. Jarvis unlocked it, and he found himself looking at the face of Brian Banner.

"Minnie, where are you?" he asked when a very confused sounding Minnie Banner answered the phone. "No time for that now, where's your husband? Are you in a compact space? Well, next time you're in open areas, let him know HYDRA lost his father." he said as he started to walk downstairs. "Where am I?" he repeated. "Oh I'm just getting dressed." he said before hanging up.

He looked at Pepper, and she walked over to him quickly, following him downstairs as he went. He unsealed the door to the lab he had been avoiding since Pepper said it was still only a garage, and he wasn't well enough to drive yet.

"Tony are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked as she followed him. "You're not feeling well, how much do you remember anyway?"

"I remember enough to remember how to work one of these." he said pointing to the suit.

"Tony be real."

"Always am." he said as he stepped onto the platform. The robots started attaching the armor and Pepper huffed out an unhappy sigh, crossing her arms. "Hey," he said to her as she frowned up at him. "Look at it this way. You can start wearing the ring again."

"Oh great, you start wearing the suit, and I get to wear the ring." she nodded and he stepped down to her, the metal of the suit clanging against the hard stone floor. "If you don't come back, there's no reason for me to wear the ring." she protested and he gave her a small smile.

"Hey, I always come back; and when I do, I'm coming back for you." he said, cupping her face. She smiled at him and then leaned forward slightly.

"That's have been a lot more romantic if you weren't in the suit." she said and he smiled wider.

"It'd be unnecessary if I wasn't in the suit." he said before he leaned down and kissed her deeply again. God I don't know how I survived not doing that." he muttered to himself. She smiled and kissed him again.

"There's a lot more where that came from, so long as you come back." she said and he smiled.

"I always do." he said, and then the helmet covered his face. "Though I still say saving the world is a good excuse to be late for dinner!" he called as the thrusters started up and he flew out of the house. "Jarvis, music." Tony said and couldn't help but grin as _'Back in the Saddle Again'_ by Aerosmith started playing. "Nice choice Jarvis." he complimented the AI.

"I thought it appropriate sir." Jarvis answered.

* * *

Psst. I update faster when I get reviews. Think about it. ;)


	19. Chapter 19

_**Hey ya'll! Here's chapter 19, The Other guy is going to make an appearance in chapter 20 (I thought it fitting, since chapter 20 is the first time the Other Guy appears in "Which Me Do You Like?") Anyways, I hope you like this! The entire time I wrote it I had my Hulk bobblehead sitting next to me. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Marvel owns, and I don't take credit to the lyrics for "It's Now or Never" Kayla is growing up to be an Elvis fan, what can I say?** _

* * *

Nothing could beat the surprise I felt when I answered the phone and heard Tony bark "Minnie, where are you?"

"Wha- I- Tony?" I asked. "Oh my god, are you okay, what's going on-" Everyone looked back at me; Clint literally hit the brakes, almost sending me toppling over. Luckily Natasha was there and caught me quickly.

"No time for that, where's your husband?"

"He's right here, do you want to talk to him?" I asked as I looked at Bruce who was working with Selvig on something.

"Are you in a compact space?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well next time you're in open areas, let him know HYDRA lost his father." he said.

"Well Tony we're surrounded by open space, we're on our way to Columbus." I paused and then thought. "Where are you?"

"Where am I?" he repeated. "Oh I'm just getting dressed." he responded before he hung up. I stared down at the phone in slight shock before I let out a small laugh, covering my mouth in surprise.

"Is he okay?" Clint finally asked and I nodded, letting out a long sigh and a laugh as I ran a hand through my hair.

"He's fine." I grinned. I let out a small laugh and Bruce stood up, moving over to me. I threw my arms around him and he smiled as I hugged him tightly. "I didn't realize how worried I was." I said and he rubbed my back lightly.

"He's your friend." he said softly. "Of course you were worried."

"Yeah." I said and let go of him. I thought back to what Tony had told me and my smile faltered lightly, I looked back up at Bruce and smiled before I stood up on my tip toes and lightly kissed him. He smiled, though I could see the hesitation in his eyes. I bit my lip lightly, but then went to check on Kayla who was in the bedroom in the back with Amanda. As I was talking to them I got a text message from Pepper, telling me a little more of what Tony had told me.

"Clint?" I asked a little while later. "Do you think we can stop somewhere?" I walked over to him and he looked up at me, and then to the road.

"We do need to stop for gas pretty soon." he nodded and I smiled.

"Thank god, I need to get off of this thing."

"You're not the only one." he muttered as he navigated off of the road to a Roxxon gas station.

"Hey Amanda, will you take Kayla to the bathroom?" I asked and handed her some money. "Get yourselves some snacks."

"Thanks Minnie." she smiled. "Come on Kayla, let's go see if Uncle Tony's on any magazine covers."

"I wanna get the one with the spirals on it!" she said as she bound off of the RV, following Amanda to the gas station market.

"The _spirals_?" Steve asked.

"She means a DNA helix." I said as I watched them run into the market.

"_She's three_." he said after a pause and I looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah. She's also her father's daughter." I smiled and then looked at Bruce who was stretching. "Excuse me Steve." I said before I walked over to Bruce and put my hands on his waist. "I need to talk to you." I said softly and he looked down at me with raised eyebrows. "Come on." I said and he nodded wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

I wrapped my arm around his waist and we walked away from the RV. There was a large field next to the gas station and he smiled tightly. "I have a feeling I'm not going to like what you have to say." he said softly and I looked at him innocently.

"Why would you say that?" I asked and he smiled.

"You've figured me out over the years. Send the girls inside, take me to an open space. You bring the EpiPen with you?" he asked and I shook my head.

"…Should I have?" I asked and he chuckled dryly.

"Don't bother." he said. "If I get real upset, the other guy would come out anyway."

"Really?" I asked and he shrugged.

"The worse I get, the stronger he gets." he said and I turned to him, lightly touching his arm.

"I don't want to upset you."

"You don't want to upset _him_." he attempted to correct me.

"No Bruce," I said. "I don't want to upset _you_." I said and he sighed. "It looks like I'm too late for that."

"I'm not upset. Trust me, you'll know when I'm upset." he said and I smiled lightly.

"The last thing I want to do is upset you." I said and he nodded. "But, apparently, um, does New Mexico mean anything to your father?" I asked hesitantly.

"That's where he had his accident." he nodded and I nodded slowly. "Why?"

"Fuck, there's no easy way to say this." I said, and looked up at him. "HYDRA lost your father. They think he's in New Mexico." I said and I winced feeling his grip on my arms tighten.

"Great." he said softly, the corner of his mouth twitched lightly and he took his glasses off, and pinched the bridge of his nose. I stood there, before I did what every other Avenger had told me not to do. I moved forward and lightly put my hand on his shoulder. He looked at me and I smiled softly seeing the green in his eyes.

"Hey Big Guy." I said softly. "Now is not the time or the place to come out." I said gently. "I promise, I'll take you somewhere to let it all out, but right here and right now, that's a bad idea and you know it." I said as I rubbed his back lightly. I could feel Bruce's breathing increasing.

"Momma!" I heard Kayla shout from where she was over by the RV. "I got one with Tony!" she held up a magazine and started running towards the two of us.

Thor and Erik saw what was happening and instantly ran over, Thor got to her first and swept her into his arms before moving back to the RV. I felt the Hulk let out a low growl as Thor pulled Kayla away from him, something I assume the Hulk perceived as a threat, he took a step closer to them, before Bruce seemed to take over, and turn back to the field quickly. Bruce's hands were turning green; I took them quickly, making his green tinted face look to me quickly. His skin was darkening, and his body growing, his shirt was stretching, close to tearing. I took his hands, and pressed them against my face.

"Honey, look at me, it's just us." I said softly. "You can't do this, not right now, not in front of your daughter." He looked over to the RV and I reached up, turning his face so he was looking to me. "Talk to me baby." I said and he let out a long ragged breath.

"_Upset_." he finally said, and I nodded.

"You have every right to be." I told him. "It's okay to be upset." The Hulk's green eyes met my own and I reached up to lightly stroke the side of Bruce's changing face. "But you can't let it out now." I said. The Hulk searched my eyes.

"Minnie... _Scared_?" he asked and I smiled.

"Not of you Big Guy." I said before I moved in and wrapped my arms around his torso. The Hulk started to shrink back, until Bruce was the only one I was hugging. He slowly wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head. I pulled away and cupped his face lightly. "Does he really think I'm scared of him?" I asked and he smiled lightly before I pulled him to me and kissed him lightly. "Remind me next time he comes out we need to have a little talk." I said and he laughed as I took his hand and laced our fingers together before leading him to the RV.

"Is Daddy in trouble?" Kayla asked from where she was sitting on Thor's shoulders.

"No Baby." I said as I reached up and took her off of the Norse god's shoulders.

"You were having a talk with him." she pointed out.

"Just because I was having a talk with Daddy doesn't mean he's in trouble."

"When I'm in trouble you make me stand in the corner."

"I know that."

"Does Daddy need to go in the corner?" she asked.

"Makayla, Daddy is not in trouble!" I laughed.

"He looked like he was in trouble."

"Baby girl, keep it up and you'll be the one in the corner." I said and she wriggled out of my arms and ran over to her father.

"Daddy, mommy wants to put me in the corner and I was only asking why you need to go in the corner."

"No, she's going to put you in the corner for not listening. I'm not going in the corner Kayla."

"But you got in trouble."

"Would it make you feel better if I was in the corner?" he asked after a pause and she nodded.

"Alright, let's go." he rolled his eyes as she took his hand and led him into the RV.

"I have to say," Erik said as he watched Bruce walk into the RV. "You handled that very well. A little reckless, but, very well."

"You know what they say. Kill 'em with kindness." I said and he smiled.

"You handle him very well. Sometimes I forget he has that within him."

"I don't." I replied and he looked at me curiously. "I married him. I know what he's got in him, but I don't care. He's my husband, and I love him. All of him." I said and then looked at Thor. "Thanks for grabbing her." I said to him and he nodded.

"I did not think My-Kayla needed to see the man of anger."

"Thank you." I nodded.

"We all ready?" Steve asked clapping his hands together.

"Yeah, I think so." Erik said as Natasha and Amanda came out of the shop.

"I got you a sweet tea." Amanda said as she fished around in the bag and pulled out a large Arizona sweet tea.

"There was a sandwich shop attacked to the gas station," Natasha said. "We picked up sandwiches for everyone."

"Great idea." Clint said and she smiled lightly. We got into the RV and Clint pulled away from the gas station and back onto the interstate.

"Clint, how did you learn to drive an RV?" I asked as I got into the passenger's seat with him.

"I used to live with a traveling circus. I learned to drive on bigger things than this." he said and I smiled lightly.

"The circus?" I asked and he smiled lightly.

"Like you never wanted to run away with the circus." he said and I laughed.

"It's one of my main regrets in life." I said with a nod and he laughed.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be." he said and I nodded.

"Nothing really is." I said and he sighed.

"Ain't that the truth." he muttered.

"How much longer 'till we get there?"

"I'd say about two hours." he said. "That car accident really screwed us for time."

"God, no kidding." I muttered.

"Hey," Natasha said and I smiled looking back at her. "Here's your sandwich, its tomato mozzarella and basil."

"Oh yum, thanks Nat." I smiled as I took it from her. I patted Clint on the shoulder as I stood up and moved around her.

"This one's for Bruce." she said handing me another sandwich.

"Right, thanks." I said as I took it. She nodded and slipped around me to sit next to Clint as I walked over to the table where Erik was explaining something from the science magazine Kayla had purchased to Amanda. "Kayla," I said and she looked up at me. "Where's Daddy?"

"In the corner." she said pointing into the back bedroom.

"You're a brat you know that?" I asked and she wrinkled her nose.

"I'm just strong willed." she said and I laughed as I shook my head.

"Steve honey, will you please explain to Kayla who Shirley Temple is?" I asked and she looked at Steve who smiled.

"That, I can do." he said and Kayla grinned before running over to Steve.

"Honey?" I walked into the back bedroom, where Bruce was changing his shirt. He turned around as I picked up the shirt he had changed out of off of the bed. A few buttons had popped off down the chest, and the ones at his wrists had popped off. "Looks like the other guy owes you a new shirt." I said and he scoffed gently.

"The other guys owes me a lot more than a few new shirts." he said and I smiled lightly before I held out the sandwich.

"Nat bought you a sandwich."

"Thanks." he said as he ripped back the paper and took a bite. He sighed as he sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Your hair's getting pretty long." I said as I ran my fingers through it.

"I know," he sighed. He wrapped an arm around my waist as I sat down on the bed next to him. "I'd let you cut it, but I don't trust you with scissors while Clint is driving."

"I don't know if that's an insult to me or Clint."

"Clint, but it's also a statement of self preservation." he said casually and I hit his shoulder lightly making him smile.

"Just for that, when we do stop, I'm cutting your hair." I said and he laughed.

"Oh darn." he sighed and I smiled before kissing his temple.

When we got to the place we were going, just outside of Columbus, Ohio I could feel how tense Bruce was, he muttered something about never wanting to go to Ohio again, but followed after me as I carried a cranky Kayla out of the RV. We were at a very normal looking house in a very normal looking neighborhood, being greeted by not a very normal looking man.

"I didn't realize Thor had another brother." Clint muttered to Erik who smiled.

"Hi, Luke Cage," he shook my hand and then smiled at Kayla who buried her face in my neck. "She must be kinda cranky." he said and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Minnie, this is Kayla." I said as I patted her back. "This is Amanda," I turned to the girl who was smiling up at him.

"Nice to meet you." she smiled, and then looked at me. "I'd say Piotr is about that tall." she said nodding to Luke who laughed lightly.

"Hi, Bruce Banner." Bruce smiled at Luke who shook his hand.

"Good to meet you Doctor." he said before he turned to the house. "Come on inside, my wife is waiting." he said as he led us into the house.

Stepping into the house I was surprised to see a very familiar figure leaning in the hallway, eating a sandwich. "Tony!" I said and he grinned as Bruce took Kayla and I moved forward to hug him tightly.

"Miss me Kiddo?" he asked and I hit his arm.

"I'm married with a kid, don't call me kiddo." I muttered and he laughed as he ruffled my hair, and then looked at Natasha. "Miss me Agent Romanoff?" he asked and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Don't I get a hug?" he asked before walking over and wrapping his arms around the stone face assassin. "That's nice." he said when he let go of her.

"Uncle Tony, can I have a Iron Man suit too?" Kayla asked as Bruce set her down.

"Sure." he smiled as he ruffled her hair.

"How is it your mind sees us as your friends?" Thor asked and Tony smiled lightly.

"Believe it or not, you've got Leona Hiss to thank for that, but I'll tell you later, Bruce, front and center Big Guy," Tony said as he pulled his phone out. "Jarvis found you a nice field with nothing around where you can go do your thing later tonight." he said and Bruce rolled his eyes before walking over to him.

"Honey, did you show them where they'll be staying?" a female voice asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Luke said as he walked over to a room. He led us into the room, where he went to one part of the wall, and slid open a secret panel. He typed in a code on the small keyboard and it opened a secret door. "Right through there and down the stairs." he said holding the door open. We all walked down the stairs curiously, Tony moved ahead and punched in a code before another door opened. We walked in there and found ourselves in what looked like the bridge of the JJ Abrams Enterprise. Bruce, Tony and Erik looked right at home.

"Right through there is the hallway, bedrooms, sorry, it's a little cramped, it was designed as a SHIELD safe house." Luke explained. "Uh, bathrooms through there, storage, and emergency exits." he pointed to areas. "And, obviously, this is the lab, and communications room."

"Oh good." Tony said before he went to a computer.

"Hacking into SHIELD's database, _again_?" Steve asked and Tony scoffed lightly.

"No point in hacking what doesn't exist." he said simply. "SHIELD's gone underground Capscicle- and not like this." he waved to the walls in front of us. "Their servers are offline, they encrypted everything, and even though I could get into their systems, I set up the encryption, so what's the point of hacking?" he asked and then smiled before patting Steve on the arm. "Don't worry. You'll catch up." he said before he looked back at the computer. He stared at the screen for a moment, before nodding to Selvig who walked over instantly. I followed Nat to the bedrooms, where I was slightly disturbed to see rows of bunk beds.

"This brings back memories." Clint grumbled.

"Soldier's headquarters haven't changed much." Steve said as I put Kayla down on a bunk bed.

"I wanna sleep on the top." she mumbled as she stuck her thumb in her mouth, a tell tale sign she was about to fall asleep.

"Maybe later sweetheart." I said softly.

"Sing Now and Never." she requested and I sighed, smiling lightly at her mistitle of the song.

"You got it Pretty Girl." I said as I started rubbing her back. I softly sang "_It's Now or Never_" par request of my daughter, knowing that Steve was no longer the only Avenger to hear me sing. She passed out as I rubbed her back and sang the song. "Again, I apologize for my crappy singing." I said to them and Natasha looked away, ducking her head as if to avoid my eyes. "Steve?" I asked and he looked at me. "Tonight, uh, Bruce, Tony, and I need to go take care of something. Do you think you can keep an eye on Kayla?" I asked and he cleared his throat.

"Of course." he said looking down at her, sprawled out on the bed, her thumb shoved in her mouth.

"She'll be really easy, I promise." I said. "She'll probably sleep. Amanda will be here, but Kayla gets cranky if there isn't a stern authority figure around." I shrugged and he smiled.

"It's not a problem Minnie." he said.

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Hey, Luke's wife wants everyone to come upstairs." Amanda poked her head into the bunk room. "Awesome, bunk beds!" she grinned. "Am I above Kayla?"

"Sure are sweetheart." I said and she grinned.

"So cool." she muttered with a grin, before walking out of the room.

"Well I'm glad someone's amused." Clint said making me and Nat both scoff lightly before we all followed after the girl.

* * *

**_Hope you like it! I'm trying to work with a little more Clint and Natasha. So, as a little bit of a teaser, I thought I'd tell you not only do we see the other guy, there's a lot of fighting, craziness, a thunderstorm, and a face no one wants to see in Ohio. That's the teaser. Please don't forget to review! =D_ **


	20. Chapter 20

_**Hey ya'll, as promised, here's the new chapter! Has anyone seen 'The Kids Are All Right' yet? Holy crap. Mark Ruffalo on a motorcycle with a leather jacket looking all sexy and- ahem. Anyways... Yeah. I just watched it, I totally recommend it though, I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. It kind of bothered me actually. PM me if you want to discuss, but I'm not going to spoil it for anyone. **_

_**Also, this is kind of amusing, and shows how my brain works sometimes. There was a 3.8 earthquake while I was finishing writing this and I was laying in bed, my first instinct was to grab my Hulk bobble head and my iPod and run under the doorway where I sat with my roommate's cat for twenty minutes before deeming it safe. The earthquake lasted like three seconds. But still, it scared the bejebus out of me. **_

_**Anyhoo, enjoy this rather dark, semi intense in some scenes chapter. I hope you like it! **_

_**Disclaimer: I own none of this. Just Minnie. But nothing else (Except Dr. Fleischer).**_

* * *

"You're _sure_ you don't mind watching her?" I asked Steve who nodded.

"Everything will be fine." he promised.

"Okay, well, ask Amanda anything you need to, uh, she's not allergic to anything, don't feed her sweets, she'll be bouncing off the walls, and, well, considering we haven't looked too deeply into her genetics, that's actually a possibility we haven't run across yet, but, anyways, uh, if she gets too hyper, just let her run out her energy with Thor, I swear every parent needs a hyperactive Norse god to tire their kids out." I laughed and Steve chuckled. "You're _sure_?"

"It's fine." he said and I smiled before I hugged him.

"Thank you so much Steve." I said.

"It's not a problem, now go." he said and I nodded before I went upstairs where Bruce was talking with Luke. Luke handed him a key and Bruce shook his hand before looking at me.

"What was that?"

"Luke lent me his bike, we're going for a ride." he said and I chuckled lightly.

"Do you know how to ride a motorcycle Bruce?" I asked with a small smile and he looked at me before he smiled lightly.

"'Course." he replied. I smiled as we went to the garage and he pulled a tarp off of the bike. "Here," he handed me a helmet and I put it on before striking a pose. "Oh it's _very_ you." he said and I laughed as he pulled his own helmet on and I helped buckle it. He quickly buckled mine before he got onto the bike. He kick started it and then held my hand as I climbed onto the back.

"God I haven't been on one of these since college." I said and he looked back at me. "There was this guy who used to ride a Harley, he used to like to drive me places." I nodded and he raised an eyebrow. "The key piece of information to take away from that story is; I married you." I said before I leaned forward and lightly kissed him, he smiled, and turned to face the road before taking off. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and held on as we rode. We had been riding for awhile before he pulled into a gas station, and started to fill the bike up.

"You okay?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, fine." I said as I rubbed my arms slightly. I had only worn a sweater, not knowing that we would be on a motorcycle and that we were going such a long distance. "Where are we going?"

"Dayton." he answered as he slipped his leather jacket off and slipped it over my shoulders.

"Bruce, are you sure you want to do that?" I asked, the jacket slipping slightly.

"No, I'm not." he said softly. "But I- I think I need to do it." he said and I smiled gently.

"If you're sure." I said as he caught the jacket and held it out to me. I turned and slipped my arms into it.

"As sure as I'm going to get." he said moving up closer behind me. I smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist, before the gas pump stopped. He let go of me and walked over to it, replaced it and looked at me. "Ready?" he asked and I nodded. He got onto the bike and started it before I got onto the back.

"Honey, you sure you don't want the jacket?" I asked, buckling my helmet back on.

"You look like you need it more." he said, watching me finish buckling the helmet, before he started to pull away from the gas station. I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist, holding on tightly. When we stopped again it was at a grocery store in Dayton. We went inside and straight to the flower section. I watched him pick up a bunch of flowers, and smell them before he smiled lightly at me. I smiled gently before walking over to him. "What do you think of these?" he asked and I smelled them. They were pale pink roses

"I think they're beautiful." I said and he nodded before he took my hand and led me to checkout. We bought the roses and then went back out to the bike and went from the grocery store to a cemetery.

We parked the bike and I hopped off, unbuckling my helmet with one hand and holding the flowers with another. He stared at the area around us for a long moment before he sighed and climbed off the bike. "How long has it been?" I asked and he looked at me, he looked up at the sky for a moment, before he finished unbuckling the helmet and put it down on the bike. He ran a hand through his curly black hair and then looked back at me.

"Since the funeral." he admitted and I nodded after a moment.

"Okay." I said. He took my hand and led me through the different rows of headstones and graves before we were deep in the cemetery. There was a small group of gangster looking guys not too far from where we were, but I noticed them surrounding a fresh grave, they nodded to us as we walked by and I nodded to them before we stepped up to a grave reading

"_In loving memory of wife and mother _

_Rebecca Banner, _

_Death is only a shadow, _

_Across the path to Heaven._"

Bruce knelt down and pulled a few weeds from around the headstone, and then looked back at me. I unwrapped the flowers from the plastic they had come in and handed them to him, he took one from the rest before placing them into the cemetery vase. He stood up, brushing his hands on his jeans, before walking over to me. He wrapped one arm around my shoulders and held the other flower to me. I leaned up and kissed his cheek gently.

"My aunt was the one who arranged everything." he said as I smelled the rose. "She was kind of religious." he shrugged and I smiled gently.

"It's a beautiful headstone Bruce." I said and he nodded. I walked over to the headstone and put the flower he had given to me on top of it. He smiled lightly as I turned back, my eyes noticed a figure moving towards us and my face fell. Bruce turned around and I saw his shoulders tense up.

"I thought you said he was going to New Mexico." he said looking at me. I just shrugged, not knowing what to say as Brian Banner, who I only recognized from pictures Tony had made a point of showing me, strode- or stumbled- over to us.

"You know sweetheart," he said looking at me. "You got a lot of gall marrying my boy here, knowing what he is and all."

"What he is, is a good person." I hissed as I moved in front of Bruce. "Something you never bothered finding out about him, and something you'll never know."

"I hear I got a grandkid. How does that work, what with the uh, the green guy, 'less she's more of a mutant then we know about." he shrugged, nodding to me and I frowned.

"Go back to the bike." Bruce said to me.

"Bruce I-"

"_Go._" he said sharply, making me wince slightly, before I nodded. I walked away from the grave, and looked back as Brian stepped closer to his estranged son. The two were exchanging words I didn't hear.

When I got to the bike I realized I was still holding the plastic from the flowers. I crumpled it up and was about to throw it away, before I noticed a black car that hadn't been in the parking lot before. I walked over to it, and casually looked inside it, in case it was someone who had just parked outside of the cemetery looking for somewhere to sleep. It was full of empty liquor bottles and what looked like a lab coat.

"Bingo." I muttered as I checked the door. Not only did he leave the door unlocked, he left the keys in the ignition. I sighed as I looked around the car, not really knowing what I was looking for. I didn't see anything in the driver's side, so I moved to the passenger's side, careful not to leave any fingerprints by wrapping my hand with the plastic from the flowers. I found an ID card in the glove box and pulled it out before dropping it in surprise at the picture.

I launched myself out of the car, feeling slightly sick. I paced a few times, that face- God, why did it have to be that face? I finally sighed, and ran my hand through my hair before I went back to the car and picked up the ID card. "Hans Fleischer… Is that your name?" I muttered. I let out a long sigh, and noticed a piece of paper crumpled up between the seats. I could see someone walking towards the car so I quickly grabbed it before I got out of the car and pulled the plastic off of my hand, and shut the door. I sighed seeing Bruce walking out of the shadows and walked over to him quickly. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and he slowly hugged me back.

"What were you doing?" he asked after a minute and I looked at him, before I held up the ID card I had swiped.

"Looks like Brian has been working with the good doctor." I said, my voice cracking slightly. I saw a flash of green in Bruce's eye and he took a breath before he nodded, the paper I had taken was now in my pocket and I didn't want to show it to him until I had taken a look at it. "What happened? Where's your father?"

"That _man_," he scoffed. "Started a fight with those gang bangers a few rows over, they had some sort of bottle they were passing around, and he went over there trying to get it from them, and eventually insults were thrown." he shook his head as I rolled my eyes.

"So you left him there to deal with them?" I asked and he nodded.

"He's not my problem," he said. "He stopped being my problem the day he was locked up. We should go, I think I need to take Tony up on that field offer." he muttered and I nodded. We went back to the bike and he got on, I smiled at him lightly as I buckled my helmet and he looked away, not returning the smile. I waited for him to start the bike before I got on, and wrapped my arms around him. He lightly touched my hands before he took one and gently lifted it up to kiss my knuckles, and then put it back on his waist before he pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

"Hey Tony." I said softly to Tony who was sitting on the hood of his rental car. He looked at us and smiled lightly.

"Brought you some extra clothes big guy." he said nodding to a bag next to him on the hood of the car.

"Uh, thanks." Bruce said and Tony handed me a large Starbucks cup.

"Where did you find an open Starbucks?" I asked with a small laugh.

"I'm Tony Stark, I can do anything." he replied easily and I laughed lightly before Bruce started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Can you look over there for a minute?" I asked and Tony rolled his eyes but turned his head as I walked over to Bruce. "I think this'll be good for you." I said softly and he nodded as I unbuttoned the buttons at his wrists. His watch came off and then he slipped the shirt off of his shoulders, I smiled, kissing his chest, and then I leaned up and kissed him. "Shoes and the belt too." I said and he kicked his shoes off while I unbuckled his belt. I held the shoes and belt and he looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He leaned down and kissed me gently, running his fingers through my hair before he pulled away. He took a few steps back and quickly changed into what Tony like to call the Enormous Green Rage Machine.

He stared down at me for a moment and I smiled. I walked over to him and looked up at him. There were so few times he changed when he wasn't extremely pissed off, though after whatever happened at the cemetery I was surprised he wasn't beating something (Probably a tree, or Tony's rental car) into the ground in frustration, rather he stared down at me. He held his hand out and with one finger very gently touched my hair. I touched his large hand and smiled lightly. "Let it out big guy." I said and he grinned before turning away and letting out a very loud roar. I jumped, and then scurried back over to Tony who was watching us.

"Nice moment you had with the Hulk there."

"Shut up." I muttered and he nudged my knee lightly.

"Think you'll be inviting him to date night instead of Brucie boy?" he asked and I looked at him. "Course, the way I've heard it, you've already slept with him."

"I'm never telling Dallas anything again."

"Surprisingly it wasn't Dallas." he answered as Hulk moved over to a very large tree and wrapped his arms around the trunk. "Think he can do it?" he asked and I looked at him.

"The ground crumbles under his feet when he runs too quickly, of course he can do it."

"And you guys insisted on driving." he muttered and I smiled. "Of course, it is one way of getting HYDRA's attention."

"Yeah, it worked for when we were getting you out of town." I said pointedly and he frowned lightly. "How much do you remember?"

"It's still bits and pieces. Most of its back, the important things, what's your real name again?" he asked with a frown and I smiled.

"It's not important," I said and he smiled. "What about why you did this to yourself, do you remember- Told you." I said suddenly as Hulk ripped the tree from the ground.

"Oh, look at that." he said as I sipped my black and white mocha. "And, yes, I remember why I did it."

"You remember the-"

"No no, no." he shook his head. "I remember the purpose of wiping my mind, but I don't remember any of the details. It's kind of aggravating actually, it's like having something on the tip of your tongue, but not remembering what it is." he shrugged.

"So if it wasn't Dallas, who was it?" I asked and he looked at me.

"Jarvis, actually." he said and I scowled.

"I am so spilling something on him next time I'm in a Jarvis encoded facility." I muttered and he laughed. "Bruce may or may not have mentioned it as well." he said as Bruce swung the tree up and down into the ground, birds flew out of it and branches and leaves went flying.

"Why the _hell_ would he have mentioned that to _you_?" I asked.

"I'm the one making the serum every time he needs a refill, he was asking me to up the strength." he said and I blushed lightly. "Hey nothing to be ashamed of, we've all got our kinks, yours just happens to be huge and green. How does that even work anyway, I'm dying to know." he looked at me and I rolled my eyes.

"He wasn't huge and green, if he was I'm pretty sure there would be a bed sized hole in the floor of my bedroom." I said and he smirked. "Stop it." I pointed my finger at him. He laughed and I sipped my warm drink again. "It was like when his eyes go green and you know the Hulk is coming- Don't even think about it." I cut him off as he opened his mouth. He rolled his eyes and I heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance. Hulk turned and roared back at the sky making Tony and myself chuckle lightly.

"Shit." I muttered and he looked at me. I nodded to the grass about twenty feet away where Bruce's watch was sitting on the ground. "I'll go get it."

"You sure? I've got the suit in the back." he nodded to the car and I smiled lightly.

"It'll be fine." I said. I got up and moved slowly towards the watch, I could see Hulk watching me; he had dropped the tree when he went to shout at the sky. The thunder rumbled again, closer as a few drops started to fall from the sky. I moved to the watch and picked it up, and looked up, surprised to see Hulk standing very close to me. "It's hard to believe someone so big could be so quiet." I smiled at him. "You done getting it off your chest?" I asked and he continued to look down at me. He reached down, as if to put his hand on the ground next to me, when a pair of hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back. "What are you doing?" I asked Luke Cage in shock.

"Tony told me where ya'll were." he said as he continued to pull me back. "He didn't tell me what a dumbass you were being, what were you doing getting that close to that thing?" he asked.

"He's my husband!" I said as Hulk's eyes widened and he growled.

"He's not your husband right now." he said pushing me behind him. "He was going to grab you."

"No he wasn't!" I insisted, though I had no way of knowing if he was or not. Even so, I didn't need a SHIELD operative telling me what he was going to do or not do. Luke shoved me behind him, and I stumbled on a gopher hole, yelping slightly as I stumbled back, falling right on my ass. Oh boy...

"You're pretty big." Luke said with a smirk to Hulk who was advancing on him. "I've fought bigger."

"I highly doubt that." Tony said from inside the Iron man suit. He flew over us and landed in front of Hulk, holding his hands out as if to keep Luke away from Hulk. "Just step away Cage," Tony started slowly. "If anyone can calm that guy down, it's her. And he's not really big on her being manhandled." he said as I stood up.

"Tony look out!" I gasped as Hulk grabbed tony by the leg and tossed him to the side quickly. The thrusters kicked in and he landed safely on the ground before stumbling slightly. Hulk grabbed Luke and threw him farther into the field; he landed near the tree Hulk had demolished. The rain was starting to get heavier as Hulk moved over to me. "Bruce," I said as I moved close to him. "You need to change back, now." I said looking up at him. He looked over his shoulder as Luke Cage tried to take him by surprise, holding a very large tree limb, he was swinging it towards Bruce who caught it, and used it to swing the man into the ground. "Stop!" I shrieked but it fell on deaf ears. Tony moved over to us while Hulk was distracted and pulled me away from the fight and to the cars. "What the hell is he doing here?" I asked and Tony sighed.

"I asked him where we should go where there was lots of open space and no chance of strangers catching sight of the green sasquatch over there." he nodded to Hulk who was currently fighting Luke.

"And what, you invited him to come with?" I asked and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Believe it or not, I get that he doesn't want people seeing him like this." he said as he gestured to them. "I didn't invite him, he just showed up. Now do you want me to go help Cage, or do you want him to learn his lesson?"

"Let him learn his lesson." I decided after a minute. "But if it gets too bad, then we'll help him."

"His skin can't be broken, not even by bullets."

"What was the point of holding up the pulsar?" I asked and he shrugged.

"It'd knock him back." he said and I laughed lightly.

"Basically, no point?"

"What can I say? He's durable. Maybe even as good as a Duralex glass." he said and I laughed. "What? Have you ever dropped one of those?"

"Yeah, dropped a couple of 'em." I said and he nodded.

"So you know, they practically can't be broken... I bet I could break one."

"In the suit, sure." I nodded. "Oh shit that can't have felt good." I said as Hulk picked up the tree and hit Luke with it.

"Probably what the Duralex glass felt like when you dropped it." he said and I smiled. "What do you say later we test their durability?" he asked and I nodded.

"I'm sure Kayla would love that." I said. "Do you think you should break them up?"

"Nah, they're fine." a long bolt of lightning struck the ground and I jumped, grabbing Tony's arm, then looked at him and let go quickly. "What?"

"You're in all metal, you're an electrical conductor." I said.

"And yet surprisingly, the suit seems to power up with the lightning. 'Least it did when Thor hit me with it…" he said thoughtfully and I shrugged.

"Whatever, I still don't want to be toasted." I muttered, and the thunder clapped right overhead. I jumped and noticed Hulk get distracted; Luke took the opportunity to jump on his back and using a thick branch wrap his arms around Hulk's neck. Hulk reached up, breaking the branch easily and swept Luke off of him. "God, this is getting so repetitive." I muttered before I walked out into the field.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tony demanded as he followed me.

"I'm ending this." I said. The thunder clapped again, and lightning followed, the rain had soaked me to the bone, to the point I didn't care I was wet anymore. "_**Enough!**_" I shouted at the two fighting men. Both stopped and looked at me as I stood there, probably looking like quite a sight. "This has gone on long enough!" I shouted at them. "Luke, you're an idiot, I get it, you're brig and strong, and you don't have a scratch on you, but the only reason he attacked in the first place was because of you shoving me. You took one look at him and your ego told you that you needed to fight him, I don't know what you're trying to prove, but I don't care. That's the only reason you came here tonight, was to fight him, there's no other reason." I said and he stared at me in slight surprise, as did Hulk and Bruce. "You," I said looking at Hulk who looked, dare I say, startled, that I was turning my attention on him. "Enough is enough." I said crossing my arms. "I'm flattered, I am, but I'm fine." I sighed. I took a tentative step forward, neither did anything so I walked over to Hulk and looked up at him. He knelt down so he was almost level with me. "It's time to change back." I said to him before I leaned forward and lightly kissed his chin.

"Mrs. Banner-"

"Luke, you should go, now." I said looking at him. He nodded and started to trek out of the wet field. I looked back at Hulk who was shrinking back to his normal size and let out a breath.

I don't know what I would have done if that hadn't worked.

* * *

_**So, this was my longest chapter yet. It took up 12 pages on Word. I hope you liked it! Minnie isn't so scared of the Hulk anymore, and has grown to accept him more, not that she didn't accept him before, but she was more scared of him before in case you don't remember her admitting she was scared. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, please review!** _


	21. Chapter 21

_**Hey ya'll! I hope you enjoy the chapter! **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own my oc's. Everything else is Marvel. I worship them.** _

* * *

The next morning I woke up in the SHIELD bunk room. I was squeezed onto the same bunk as Bruce who had decided to hold onto me, and not let go after I made sure he had gotten to bed all right. I slipped out from under his arms and sighed. My foot hit Bruce's jacket I had dropped next to the bed and I picked it up, and pulled the ID card out. I quickly shoved it back into the pocket and grabbed some clothes and my toiletries bag out of my bag before I went to the large bathroom.

One entire wall was shower stalls; the opposite was counters and sinks, so I put the clothes on the counter. There was a closet next to the door with towels in it, so I grabbed one and hung it over the curtain rod of the shower I was going in, and I turned on the shower. When it heated up I stripped and threw my clothes on the counter before stepping into the water. I sighed feeling the warm water wash off the sweat and grime and dried on rainwater from the night before.

As I stood there in the shower all I could see what his face. Him telling me I was pregnant, and that it wouldn't last much longer, him strapping me down to the bed, his smug grin, I leaned on the wall, trying to stop my head from spinning. That face- he had haunted my dreams for years- but that's all he had been before, just a face, now, he had a name, and for some reason that made him all the more real in my mind. I don't think I realized I had been crying until the shower curtain was pushed back a little bit.

"Room for one more in there?" Bruce asked softly and when I didn't answer he stepped into the shower, dropping the towel he had around his waist. "Come here," he said wrapping an arm around me. He pulled me close to him and I wrapped my arms around him, resting my forehead on his shoulder. "What's going on?" he asked softly.

"He has a name." I whispered.

"I know." he said gently.

"Do you know, he's the one who told me, about Kayla?" I asked looking up at him. "He said that he didn't know why they wanted to settle for fifty percent of your DNA, and I didn't know about her- I mean, just that day I had started thinking about it, because I was, you know... Late." I shrugged and he nodded. "But he looked at me and he told me I was pregnant, and then he said- and I swear to god for as long as I live, I'll never forget this- he said 'Don't worry, it won't last long'." I said as tears rolled down my face.

"But you proved him wrong, you had your baby- our baby- and she's upstairs eating honey nut cheerios asking her uncle Tony to make her own Iron Man suit for her, which, if he really makes her one-"

"Don't worry, he won't really..." I paused, thinking about it. "I'll call Pepper." I said and he nodded.

"My point is, you beat him, you beat that Dr. Whatever-his-name-is."

"Fleischer." I muttered and he nodded. "It means butcher." I said and he stared down at me for a moment before I wrapped my arms around him. After a moment he pulled back and looked down at me.

"Feel any better?" he asked and I nodded.

"Bruce," I paused. "I'm sorry about last night."

"Who was I fighting?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Luke Cage." I muttered. "The moment you walked into the house, he knew who you were, and he-"

"He was the one who told Tony where the field was." he muttered and I nodded. He let out a small laugh and ran a hand through his wet hair. "Is he one of them?"

"I don't know..." I shook my head. "I think, he's just... insecure." I sighed. "He was... He wanted to prove to himself he could take you on." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"What happened?"

"You… Hit him with a tree." I shrugged and he frowned, looking at me.

"I meant more, how did it end. Did it end with me hitting him with the tree?" he asked and I laughed.

"Ah, no." I said shaking my head.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you later." I said as I reached around him to adjust the water temperature. The water warmed up slightly and I wrapped my arms around his neck before pulling him down to meet his lips with mine.

* * *

"Has anyone seen the newspaper?" Bruce asked as I poured a cup of coffee.

"I don't care what they say, I want it here." Tony scoffed into the phone.

"Mommy, we're going on a airplane." Kayla said from where she was sitting. "And Thor says we're going to Cal- uh, Calmifornia." she said after a moment of thought.

"That's California sweetheart." I said as I kissed the top of her head.

"Are we going there mommy?" she asked and I nodded. "Just like in the kitty movie?"

"The Kitty movie?" Clint asked slowly and she looked at him with wide eyes before turning to me.

"Mommy I wanna watch the kitty movie!" she gasped.

"Okay baby, let me get my laptop." I said and she grinned.

"Clint will you watch the kitty movie with me?" she asked and he looked at me. I shrugged and he looked at Bruce who was frantically motioning to him. Kayla looked at her dad and he instantly stopped and smiled at her. "Please?" she asked with her large brown eyes.

I could see Clint break when she did that, Steve was avoiding her eyes, he had caught on quickly, Amanda was biting her knuckle trying not to laugh and Natasha was watching him curiously. "Sure," he nodded, trying to sound casual. "I'll watch the uh, kitty movie." he said slowly.

"What's the kitty movie?" Natasha asked as I poured some sugar into the coffee.

"It's this movie from the 90's called _'Cats Don't Dance'_." I rolled my eyes. "It's one of her favorites."

"Daddy, will you watch the kitty movie with us?" Kayla asked looking up at him.

"I- uh..." Bruce looked to Tony, silently pleading for help. Luckily Tony seemed to be in a generous mood because he stepped in.

"Actually kiddo, I need to steal daddy for a hour or so to help me out with some stuff." Tony said quickly clapping Bruce on the soldier. "Hey, you're good at this stuff," Tony said handing me his cell phone. "Get them to get my plane here."

"I better be good at 'this stuff' I did it for how long? When do you want it?" I asked taking the phone.

"Yesterday!" he said as he led Bruce to the doorway.

"Hi, who am I speaking to?" I asked into the phone, relief flooded over me as I recognized the name. "Well, Albert, it's Minnie... That's right, Ms. Strong!" I said with a smile. "Except I'm married now. Yeah, that's right." I laughed. "I have a daughter too. Yeah. Two actually." I said as I chatted with the guy. "So, look, Albert, about the plane- Okay. Well I really don't see how that's a problem. Right. Albert, come on." I said and he slowly gave in. "As soon as possible please." I said before I smiled again. "Okay Albert, you too. Bye." I hung up the phone and tossed it back to Tony. "That's how it's done." I said and he rolled his eyes as he put it into his pocket.

"Minnie," Jessica, Luke's wife walked into the kitchen. "Can I talk to you?" she asked and I nodded as I followed her.

"What's going on Jessica?" I asked and she sighed.

"I want to apologize for what happened last night. Luke just told me about it, and I am so sorry. I can't believe what an idiot he is sometimes." she shook her head as she crossed her arms. "You had every right to put him in his place."

"Yeah." I said softly. "Uh, look, I get that he's you know, Power Man and everything, but it's kind of risky looking for fights like that." I said and she looked at me curiously. "The minute he heard Bruce's name I could practically see the gears spinning in his head. When Tony asked him about empty fields, he knew why we were looking for one, Bruce just wanted to let off some steam, it's good for him I think, and no offence, but Luke came there with the sole purpose of fighting." I shrugged. "Hulk wouldn't have fought him if he didn't think I was in danger, which I'm guessing your husband picked up on."

"What did he do?" she asked and I crossed my arms. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." I shrugged. "He dragged me away from Hulk, screaming about how he wasn't my husband right then, and shoved me behind him. Bruce- Hulk- isn't too big on me being manhandled, and when he saw me fall, he kind of freaked out. I know, not the best reaction, but this is the Hulk we're talking about." I shrugged. "Anyway, Luke knew what he was doing going to that field, and neither my husband nor I appreciate the blatant manipulation on his behalf."

"I completely understand." she nodded. "And I shudder to think what would have happened if there was anyone else there," she shook her head. "Luke, he just doesn't get when enough is enough sometimes." she sighed.

"Yeah I noticed that." I nodded and she sighed before she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"I'm so sorry." she sighed and I awkwardly patted her back.

"It's alright." I said before she finally let go.

"When are you guys leaving?" she asked and I sighed running a hand over my face.

"I don't know, sometime today, the plane should be here soon." I muttered.

"Where are you going?" she asked and I sighed before I shrugged.

"...Not sure." I smiled. "I should go check on Kayla." I said before I turned to the doorway. As I stepped to the kitchen Jessica caught my arm. I turned back to her and she swallowed.

"You aren't the only one who's had to make hard choices for their family." she muttered and I nodded catching her meaning.

"I'd leave." I said softly, hardly above a whisper.

"It's not that easy." she replied.

"Making the choice is the hardest part." I said to her. Her eyes met mine and we stared at each other before she turned and started moving to the stairs. "So when are you expected to call them?" I asked and she paused on the stairway.

"I was expected to call them as soon as I know something. As of such, I didn't exactly need to call them. Some storm chasers saw the fight last night, their video and all information was taken this morning, and they're on their way here."

"How much time do we have?" I asked and she cleared her throat.

"Well I may or may not have told them that you took a trip to Bruce's childhood home, and Luke may or may not be causing a huge traffic accident as we speak, making it impossible for them to get here anytime soon. But if I were you, I wouldn't linger." she said as she continued up the stairs. "Good luck Mrs. Banner."

"Thanks." I muttered before I turned and went back to the kitchen. "Get your things, we're leaving." I said simply as I picked up Kayla.

"What's going on?" Bruce asked with a frown as Tony looked up from his phone. I walked to the basement, everyone following as I told them what Jessica had told me.

"Well the plane won't be here for at little while, I don't know how a traffic jam can put them off for that long." Steve was saying as we grabbed our things quickly.

"In the meantime we avoid getting caught." Erik said as if it were obvious- which it kind of was.

"You said they're in Dayton right?" Bruce asked as he zipped up his bag.

"That's what Jessica said. They think you're there." I replied as Kayla handed me her pyjamas and I quickly put them into my bag. "Sweetie, go get mommy and daddy's tooth brushes."

"Should I get Amanda's too?"

"Hey kid, go crazy, get everyone's toothbrushes." Tony said in a semi snide tone of voice he used when things weren't going his way, making Bruce and I look at him quickly.

"Tony," I said before Bruce had a chance to speak. "I know you're stressed because things aren't going to plan, I know this because I know you, and I know how you get," I continued. "But so help me god if you snap at my daughter again, it'll take much more than the Hulk to stop me." I said and he looked at me for a moment before he nodded.

"Kayla, I'm buying you a pony!" he shouted and she ran in from the bathroom looking excited.

"Really!" she asked, holding all of the toothbrushes she could find.

"That's right kiddo." he said and in her excitement she dropped them all.

"You're also buying everyone new toothbrushes." Natasha said rolling her eyes as she picked them all up and threw them in a plastic bag.

"Dr. Banner, isn't this generally your area of expertise? Not getting caught?" Steve asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I've adapted to it." he said as he looked at Steve.

"Well, do you have any advice?" Steve asked and Bruce nodded.

"Yeah I do actually. Cell phones, everyone." he said and everyone walked over and slowly handed him their cell phones. "Thor, if you would." he gestured to the phones. Thor stared at him for a moment, before catching his meaning. Within a flash, every phone was nothing but small pieces of plastic shards. Even Tony's 'indestructible' cell phone stood no chance against Thor's boot heel. "No cell phones, nothing they can trace." he said. "That means no credit cards, and no ID's." he said easily. "Also, uh, Natasha," he gestured her closer. They spoke closely and quietly for a moment before she nodded and gestured to a spot on her arm. Clint seemed to realize what they were talking about because he quickly joined the conversation.

"That's the one part of the job I don't get." Amanda muttered as she pulled her jacket on.

"What's that?" Steve asked and she looked at him with a semi pained looking expression.

"Oh Steve." she said softly. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

"Most SHIELD agents are chipped big guy." Tony explained as he looked sadly at his former cell phone, Erik took some of the bags and announced he was going to start up the RV.

"Chips?" Thor asked. "What has fried potato slices got to do with this?"

"No, uh, Thor," I picked up a SIM card from the floor and held it up. "This is a chip, in the technical sense. The ones Natasha and Clint have are much smaller, but this small bit of technology keeps tracks on where you are." I explained.

"And how do they intend to stop the signal?" Steve questioned.

"I've got it." Tony said suddenly. Everyone looked at him and he quickly opened his bag. He dug around to the bottom before pulling out a small black box and opening it.

"Colantotte bracelets?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Similar," he said pointing to me. "Actually, it's something I've been working on for the new suit, I've been working with the GPS thing again, however I've developed this one to override any similar GPS frequency, that isn't something like Train navigation or anything like that so the suit can find me faster. Let me tell you, we had a couple of incidents with these little babies, huh Bruce?"

"The wind tunnel?" he asked and Tony shuttered, rubbing his face at the memory. "Put them on," he said to Natasha and Clint. He handed one to each of the spies who put them on over their forearms. "That should work for now, but when we get up in the air, Bruce, how do you feel about performing surgery at twenty thousand feet?"

"About as good as I feel at the idea of being twenty thousand feet in the air." he muttered.

"The RV probably isn't a good idea. If Jessica told them about us, she probably told them about the RV." Amanda piped up.

"When the kid's right she's right." Tony said.

"The RV is our only option right now." Natasha said. "We'll ditch it when we get a chance."

"What are we going to do about getting a car?"

"Nat and I have been on some missions and done some things we weren't too entirely proud of, I can get us a car no problem."

"I think we should discuss this in the car." Steve said quickly and I nodded.

"Agreed." Thor said as he helped pick up the rest of the bags.

"I was getting a little worried." Erik said when we finally came out of the house.

"So what are you saying, we just steal a car?" Steve asked, his morals seemed bruised at the idea of stealing a car.

"I've got it." I said suddenly and everyone looked at me. "Find me a pay phone." We ended up at a gas station and I put a few dollars into the pay phone, and after blocking the number I dialed a very familiar number, and pressed an extension.

"Stark Towers, R&D please-"

"Sergio, don't you dare put me on hold!" I shouted at Dallas, using a fake name he liked and he paused.

"Cordelia, is that you?" he asked using the fake name I used when we went clubbing.

"Yeah, it's me," I said into the phone. "Look, I don't have time to explain, but I'm in Ohio, and I have the biggest hankering for Pinks." I sighed.

"Well, I know this guy, totally adorable, he has a great ass, I think you'd love him- I know I do-" he said and I smiled, and gestured to Clint who was standing guard over me while I made the call. He quickly handed me a paper and a pen.

"Go on," I urged him to continue.

"Well, he's got this friend who runs a plant out your way. His son Tony is this total party boy type who always likes to go on impromptu trips to Vegas for the weekend. In fact, I think he's got a trip of that sort planned for this afternoon. If you hurry, and I ask nicely, I'm sure he would let you ride along on the company jet."

"To Vegas?" I asked and he sighed.

"Bright lights and the big city. I know how much you love that." he responded.

"Oh yeah, I love it." I replied.

"And I assume the company jet is on its way to pick you up at your current location?"

"It is." I said and he chuckled.

"It's so sad when these things get so confused. I'll take care of it, the jet will pick you up in Vegas." he said before he cleared his throat. "Cordelia?"

"Yeah Sergio?"

"I miss you."

"I miss you too." I sighed.

"Say hi to Love Bug for me and my little Bitsie Minnie, and my little firecracker."

"I will so long as you say hi to tall dark and handsome." I said. He laughed and then gave me the address of where to go. "Thanks for everything sweetheart."

"Come home soon. Firecracker is going to die when she sees what I did to her room."

"I will. I have to go, don't you have people to put on hold?" I asked and he laughed.

"Love you Delia."

"Love you too Serge." I said before hanging up.

"Dallas?" Clint asked and I scoffed with a small smile.

"Of _course_." I said and he chuckled.

"What's the plan?" he asked and I handed him the paper.

"We need to go there." I said and he nodded.

"What's there?" he asked and I smiled.

"Our ticket out of here." I answered.

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_**Please don't forget to review!** _


	22. Chapter 22

_**Hey ya'll, sorry this chapter is so short, I got onto my computer today and something really weird had happened to the file I keep this story under, I don't even know how to explain it, between every letter there was a space, and between every word there was three spaces, it's been a pain in the ass trying to get everything looking normal again, and I'm STILL working on it. I just worked on this chapter so I would be able to post it. But, here it is, a little nod to HYDRA and HAMMER at the end, seeing as we haven't checked in with them in a couple chapters. I'm currently watching 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' which I love, and always puts me in a weird mood for a few days. **_

_**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Marvel, I would hope most of you know that by now! ;)** _

* * *

The employees at the private airport were very accommodating. When I told them my name they instantly made themselves busy taking our bags, seeing if we needed anything and making sure we were comfortable while we waited for Felipe's friend to arrive. When he did, it was in the back of a nice town car. One of the employees walked over to me and led me over to him while Bruce continued his conversation with Erik on some of his early work in the Gamma field, though his eyes followed me; as if to make sure this friend wouldn't suddenly pull a gun on me and use me as leverage for Tony's brain or something... Not that I was scared of that happening or anything.

Felipe's friend was short for a man, about my height, maybe an inch or two taller, though on inspection of his clothes I noticed he wore boots with a small heel to them, making him look a little taller, kind of like Tom Cruise. Unlike Tom Cruise however he had short, perfectly styled sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes. He was slim and had a well fitted suit on which looked rather 70's with his boots, but I kept my mouth shut as he extended his hand and smiled at me. "You must be the famous Minnie Strong." he said as he shook my hand.

"You must be Anthony." I said as I shook his hand.

"Ant, please." he smiled. "It's great to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you."

"Well apparently not enough, or you'd have heard my name is Banner now." I said with a smile and he continued to smile.

"That's an odd name, _Banner Strong_." he said and I rolled my eyes with a small smile. "No, I know, your husband I presume?" he looked at Bruce and I nodded.

"That's right." I said. "So Ant huh? Dallas called you Tony."

"Dallas would call me Tony." he shrugged. "It doesn't really work for me, I prefer Ant, it's been my nickname since I was a kid, which isn't to say Tony doesn't work for some people, like- Well, like Tony Stark." he nodded at Tony, and then dropped his voice. "Is that really Tony Stark?" he questioned and I smiled gently.

"It sure is." I said softly, and then cleared my throat. "Look, Ant, about us being your passengers, it's not-"

"It's cool, Dallas explained everything. As far as the government is concerned, I've never heard of you. One of my assistants is taking the RV and dumping it on the side of the road, there will be a set of tire tracks leading away from the RV to look like you all hopped in a different car and took off, and there's about twelve and a half sworn statements from some people at a diner about two hours north of here stating that you guys had lunch there." he continued. "Now, let's get this party airborne."

"Twelve and a half?" I asked raising my eyebrow and he smiled.

"One of them is very small." he said simply.

"You know," Tony said walking over to us, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and looked at me. "I still say we should go to Dubai. We can go to the house there, and just chill out, come on, you know as well as I do, we all need a vacation."

"Dubai is nice this time of year." Ant nodded and I rolled my eyes.

"No Dubai? How about France? Venice? Anywhere you want to go Min, anywhere." he said as he squeezed my shoulder.

"I want to go home Tony," I said with a sigh. He seemed to understand that and nodded.

"Well Kiddo," he said comfortingly. "You're about to get that wish." with that he smiled gently and I smiled gratefully at him. We were led onto the plane, Ant making sure to introduce himself to everyone, and smiling very charmingly at Natasha, making Clint glare at him darkly. When we were in the air Kayla started complaining about her ears hurting so I gave her a piece of cinnamon gum, which was one of her favorite treats.

"Clint, Clint!" she ran over to him and pulled herself into his lap.

"Hey Kayla, what's up?" he asked with a smile.

"Will you watch the kitty movie with me now?" she asked and he sighed before looking at me. "You promised!" she pleaded and he rolled his eyes before he nodded.

"Alright, I'll watch the kitty movie with you." he sighed.

"You're a good man Legolas." Tony said as he clapped Clint on the shoulder. Kayla jumped off his lap and ran over to me.

"Mommy, Clint wants to watch the kitty movie with me!" she said and I nodded as I pulled my laptop out of its bag. I set it up on the small table in front of Clint and opened the video file. Kayla climbed into the chair between Clint and Thor and shoved her thumb into her mouth as the movie started.

"I need to talk to you." Tony said as he sat down next to me holding a file.

"What's that?"

"It's your file." he said as I took it. "I took it when I was at SHIELD headquarters, got a couple of good ones before they burned everything."

"Why take it?" Bruce asked as I handed it to him.

"Why do any of what I do?" he asked.

"Because he can." I answered, picking up a few pictures. "Wow this is creepy." I muttered. There were pictures of me at a press conference with Tony, him onstage, me standing to the side of the stage with Pepper, there was a picture of me on the phone, the wind whipping through my messed up looking French Twist, the only time it got messy like that was when Tony ruffled my hair, which he did often. There were also pictures of me with Bruce, one of the night we first kissed, I smiled as I looked at the picture of me in that dress. "I guess I did look good in that dress." I said and Bruce looked at me like I was crazy.

"Did you ever doubt it?" he asked and I smiled before I kissed him gently. "There's pictures of us in Nadine." he sighed.

"Yeah SHIELD watched you guys pretty closely, but that's not the point I'm trying to make right now." Tony said as he leaned over and pointed at a line on the page.

"Head caseworker: Agent Bluefox..." I muttered as I read it. "Who is Agent Bluefox?"

"AKA," Bruce continued to read. "Ida Strong."

"There's no- You've got to be-"

"Is that your-"

"MeeMaw." I breathed. I stood up and walked over to where Ant was taking to Steve. "Can I borrow your phone?" I asked and he pulled it from his inner pocket.

"Of course." he said and I took it. I dialed a number and held the phone to my ear and waited a few moments.

"Hello?"

"A- Agent Bluefox?" I asked timidly.

"Well that sounds like my favorite granddaughter."

"MeeMaw, you know you're not supposed to pick favorites, it's not fair to- Wait, what am I doing?" I asked and then sighed. "I can't believe this." I said and she chuckled.

"Oh honey, there's a whole lot more for you to find out when you get to Los Angeles." she said. "By the way, how is my favorite great granddaughter?"

"You're already calling her your favorite when you haven't even met her?" I asked with a small laugh. "God MeeMaw, it sounds like you know everything there is to know about me and what I've been up to."

"Of course I do, I control your file, and nothing gets added to it that I don't know about. I assume Anthony has given you a copy."

"I just started reading it." I told her.

"Good girl. Finish it, and I'll be there when you touch down, and we'll have a whole lot more to talk about." she informed me.

"MeeMaw, how did you get involved with this?" I asked and she smiled.

"I've been involved since I was younger than you sweetheart." she said before hanging up.

"Thanks Ant." I said and he nodded as he took the phone back.

"I couldn't find her file, though considering she practically invented SHIELD, I assume she could have destroyed her file years ago." Tony said with a shrug.

"I don't even know what to say right now." I sighed.

"What are you watching?" I heard Natasha ask, and Thor shush her. I turned and looked back at them.

"We're watching the kitty movie!" Kayla said and I rolled my eyes with a small smile.

"What are you up to?" Natasha asked walking over to Amanda.

"Reading." she said as she looked up at the obviously bored redheaded assassin. She pulled her feet off of the seat next to her and Natasha sighed as she sat down.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Clint and I were in Budapest?" she asked and Amanda slowly closed the book, looking at Black Widow with interest.

* * *

"Mr. Osborn," there was a knock on the door and the three people in the room, Norman, Leona and Dr. Fleischer looked up as the young man who had informed Norman of the Hulk's freak out that ended up being a diversion stood in the doorway.

"Ah, Agent Whatever," he said as he stood up. "Come in."

"Actually it's Agent Carlton- but Whatever's fine." the kid stumbled over his words nervously.

"Well, Whatever," Norman said looking at him. "What information have you brought us?"

"Erm, well, you asked me to look through the files of the people who offered up information regarding the cure, and to pick out a few of the more interesting cases, these were some of the most interesting cases I could find sir." he said as he handed over three files.

"Let's see, we've got a woman with superhuman resilience..." he said and shot the kid a look before dropping the file on the table. "We've got... The power of flight... Really Whatever, we're trying to break someone's soul, not help them elude us even more than they already are!"

"Like they could elude you even more?" Dr. Fleischer muttered and Norman shot him a dark look.

"Look at the last one Sir." Agent Carlton said and Norman tossed aside the second file before flipping open the third one. "Young girl from Mississippi with the ability to... Oh Whatever, this is perfect." Norman said with a grin before handing the folder to Leona. She looked it over, the twisted smile on her face growing deeper and deeper before she looked up.

"I want her." Leona said and Norman nodded.

"By all means darling. Take Dr. Failure, and go collect a blood sample."

"Excuse me?" Dr. Fleischer asked looking at Norman who looked at him darkly.

"Because of you, we lost one of our best assets. You have the chance to redeem yourself by ensuring his work does not go unfinished." Norman said simply, before he waved his hand at the two. "Go." he said as he made a 'Shoo' motion. Leona glared so darkly Agent Carlton nearly wet his pants before she grabbed the file and left. "Was there anything else?" Norman asked after a moment of silence from Agent Whatever.

"Uh, the Avengers sir, they were spotted in Northern Ohio eating lunch at a truck stop."

"Did we get a description on the car?"

"Yes sir, a long black van with tinted windows, much like the ones SHIELD uses." Agent Whatever continued.

"Agent Whatever, I want you to take a team, and go track them down." Norman said and Agent Whatever grinned.

"Me? Really?" he asked with a smile.

"I think you've got a good chance for moving up kid." Norman said before clapping the kid on the shoulder and looking at him dangerously. "Don't fuck it up."

"N-No Sir!" Agent Whatever said happily before he ran out of the room with a grin.

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_**Please don't forget to review!** _


	23. Chapter 23

_**Hey ya'll! Here's kind of a filler chapter, but it's got some good stuff in it, and I hope you like it! This chapter, I'd like to deticate to xPoppyx! Enjoy! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, or anything you recognize. I'm not making money from this story, how would someone make money from a fanfiction anyway?** _

* * *

When we touched down in Nevada I could see Tony's jet waiting. We literally were taken off of one plane, and brought to the next, about an hour later we were in Los Angeles, where Happy, Pepper and MeeMaw were waiting for us. "Hi honey." she said as she walked over to Tony as he stepped off the plane, groaning and stretching. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her before she greeted the rest of us, Happy looked pleased to see all of us, though as much as I loved them; I was more interested in the last person that had come to greet us.

"I see you really do take after me, childbirth hasn't affected you at all." MeeMaw said looking at me and I smiled. "Your hips are a little wider, but that's to be expected."

"When you push a baby out, yeah, you'd expect your hips to be a little wider." I said and she smiled.

"Doesn't seem like Bruce minds very much." she said casually and I smiled.

"Between you and me, he loves it." I said rolling my eyes. She laughed and I hugged her. "I missed you MeeMaw." I said and she chuckled as she patted my back.

"I missed you too Sparky." she said using the nickname she and my grandpa had used when I was a kid. I let go of her and cleared my throat with a smile before she looked over my shoulder. "Bruce, get over here." she said sharply and he smiled lightly as he walked over and stood in front of her.

"Hey MeeMaw." he smiled.

"Get down here and give MeeMaw a hug." she said and he laughed before he leaned down and hugged the old woman. Amanda and Kayla walked over when I waved them over, Kayla was sucking her thumb and Amanda looked curious.

"It's good to see you MeeMaw." Bruce was saying as she let him go.

"It's good to see you too dear." she said patting his arm. "I hope you've been taking good care of my favorite granddaughter."

"Yeah, and, hey, meet your favorite great granddaughters." he said as he gestured to Amanda and Kayla.

"Stop encouraging her." I said with a smile. "MeeMaw, this is Amanda, Amanda this is my grandmother."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Strong." she said and MeeMaw waved her hand at her.

"I hear Mrs. Strong and I expect to see my mother in law. Which would suck considering how long she's been dead." she said and Amanda laughed lightly. "Call me MeeMaw." she said and Amanda smiled. "Now, come give MeeMaw a hug." she said and Amanda walked over and hugged her. When MeeMaw pulled back she cupped Amanda's face and stared at her for a moment, before patting Amanda's shoulder. "It's all over now dear." she said and Amanda looked slightly startled and puzzled. MeeMaw however looked at Kayla who took her thumb out of her mouth and smiled.

"You're Mommy's grandma?" she asked and MeeMaw nodded.

"That's right."

"You must be old." she said as she looked at MeeMaw in wonder. Bruce snorted, trying to cover it in a cough making MeeMaw smack him upside the head.

"I can un-adopt you, you know." she said to him and he nodded as he covered his smile with his hand, and walked over to me. I was smirking lightly as well as he stood next to me.

"Kayla sweetie, give MeeMaw a hug." I said with a small smile. Kayla hugged MeeMaw.

"You lot are staying at my house." MeeMaw said as she led us to a car. "Thor and Dr. Selvig, you'll be coming with us as well."

"Oh no fair, can't I have at least one of the scientists?" Tony asked and MeeMaw, Pepper and I rolled our eyes.

"You'll see them sooner than you think Anthony." MeeMaw said and he huffed at the full use of his name.

"What do you mean by that? I get every other weekend and Wednesday nights?" he asked and she looked back at him.

"You are just like your father Anthony." she shook her head and he made a face before turning around and looking at everyone else.

"Okay, might as well get going!" he said as he gestured to his cars that were waiting for them. Thor and Erik followed after us to the car MeeMaw had parked off to the side. The minivan had one of those built in car seats for Kayla, and I got into the driver's seat, seeing as I knew where we were going and MeeMaw wasn't legally allowed to drive considering her age and all. When everyone piled into the car I drove us the 45 minutes to MeeMaw's house, Thor was extremely amused by the rear air conditioning controls and Kayla, like she usually did when she was in the car, passed out on his arm with her thumb in her mouth.

"MeeMaw, are you still staying at the home?" I asked when we got to her house, she was unlocking the door, Thor was holding Kayla, and his bag, Bruce was right behind me, Amanda was half asleep, leaning her head on his shoulder and Erik was bringing up the rear.

"Oh of course dear, I'm just checked out for the day." she waved her hand in annoyance.

"There's one other question I have." I said as we walked into the house.

"Just a minute sugar." she said and patted my hand. "Dr. Selvig, the bedroom upstairs and down the hall to the right, Thor, the door right past Dr. Selvig's is the staircase to the tower, you're in there, Amanda, you and Kayla will have to share the room down the hall and across from Dr. Selvig's and you two get the master bedroom." MeeMaw said, pointing to each of us as she spoke.

"Thank you Mrs. Strong." Erik said with a smile and she nodded. They started up the stairs and I went to the kitchen with MeeMaw where I turned on the sink and filled the kettle with water. I put it on the stove and joined her at the kitchen table where she was watching me.

"What about Mom and Dad?" I asked softly and she nodded.

"They know you're alive." she said and I stared at her in surprise. "I told them you were in witness protection, that you witnessed a murder and went to the police, turns out the murderer was in the mob, classic story really." she explained.

"Brian- Bruce's dad- he called me a mutant..." I said softly and she nodded.

"Well, you are honey." she shrugged and I looked at her curiously. "You've always had the uncanny ability to empathize with people, no matter what their situation; not to mention your talent for getting yourself out of tight situations, the window in your room, do you remember how hard of a time Bruce had getting out of there?"

"How do you know about that?" I asked and she smiled lightly.

"There's not much in this family that happens without me knowing about it." she said as she patted my hand. I laughed and ran a hand through my hair.

"That's such a SHIELD answer." I muttered and she continued to smile.

"I also read your reports of what happened in Virginia, everything you told Agent Coulson, I listened to the tape, I looked at the pictures. That escape was pretty impressive."

"It was all luck."

"Exactly. It was luck. Luck of your genes." she said and I smiled gently. "I'm very proud of you sweetheart." she said as she took my hand.

"Thank you MeeMaw." I said softly and she stood up to turn the stove off. I got up and pulled down some mugs and pulled out a box of tea. "Black raspberry tea?" I asked and she nodded.

"You read my mind." she said and poured the water into the two cups. "There's a reason I've always insisted you're my favorite." she said as she put the kettle back onto the stove. "You were the only one to take after me."

"How did you know?" I asked as I put the tea bags into the steaming water and put the cups onto the table. I moved around the island in the kitchen and got the cream from the refrigerator and the sugar bowl from a cabinet, along with some spoons and napkins.

"When babies are born, that's when someone like us shows our abilities the strongest. Over the years, while we're growing, our abilities suppress themselves, until puberty, when puberty hits our bodies change, those suppressed abilities come back with a vengeance." she sighed. "You should have seen me, passing for a sixteen year old when I wanted to, when I was thirteen years old, oh, my father nearly had a heart attack." she laughed and I smiled. "You were different though, you always were good at your abilities, probably why you were so easy as a kid. Could explain why you clung so tightly to Simon for all those years, lord knows it wasn't because he was a good person."

"MeeMaw, on the inside he was..." I tried to protest but she shook her head.

"That boy has darkness in him honey. As an empath, you see only the good in a person. It's a gift, and a curse. You know I wasn't surprised when you married Bruce." she continued and I looked at her.

"I love Bruce, I would do anything for him." I said and she nodded.

"I know you would honey." she said. "I love the boy too, he's a gentleman; he doesn't have the same type of darkness Simon has." she continued. "I think you should know though, Makayla is different." I sighed as I put my palm to my forehead.

"How different?" I asked and she shrugged.

"Maybe we'll find out, maybe we won't." she said simply. "All you need to know is, there's a good chance one day you will find out, and you're going to need to know how to deal with it."

"Of course." I said with a nod. "So- So you..."

"And Dad."

"Dad?" I asked in surprise and she nodded. "Anyone else?"

"Honey, you're my favorite for a reason." she said with a shrug. I smiled with a small sigh and leaned back in my chair before I leaned forward again, spooned two spoons of sugar into my tea and took a sip.

"So SHIELD..." I said and she nodded.

"Howard too." she said and I sighed.

"My entire life has been intertwined with Tony's..." I muttered.

"There's no such thing as coincidence you know." she said. "I had hoped you would join SHIELD when you got out of school. You stopped wanting help, you decided you wanted to do everything on your own." she sighed with a small laugh. "Then you got the job working for Howard's son. I wanted you to work for SHIELD. You worked for the son of its founder." she shrugged. "It was really only a matter of time before you got involved."

"MeeMaw, I'm only involved through SHIELD protecting us." I said slowly and she raised an eyebrow. "Aren't I?" I asked and she nodded after a moment.

"For now." she agreed.

* * *

"Mr. Osborn," an agent of HAMMER walked into the office. "We've located Dr. Banner."

"Where?"

"Ohio."

"No, it's Brian we're looking for, not the Hulk." he shook his head and the young woman cleared her throat.

"With all due respect sir, that's the Dr. Banner I'm referring to."

"What the hell was he doing in Ohio?" he asked with a frown. "Send a team to go pick him up." he waved a dismissive hand and the young woman tossed down a newspaper in front of him.

"Dr. Banner is _dead_ Sir." she said and he looked up at her slowly. "There was an old man, a groundskeeper who said he saw a group of gangsters there that night, visiting someone they had buried the day before, he said he went to check the other side of the grounds, give them some privacy, when he returned, they were gone, and Dr. Banner was dead, however if you notice the time and date, that's the same night the younger Dr. Banner um, what's the phrase? Hulked out- not twenty miles from there and around the same time the groundskeeper called in the body. The rain washed away any evidence the CSI could have gotten, mostly because the old man hadn't thought to cover him in a tarp, but I do know that someone dropped off flowers to the grave."

"So he brought flowers to a grave."

"Not just any grave. The grave of Rebecca Banner." she continued. "But what about his son, Hulking out right after the estimated time of death?"

"Coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences sir." she said and he frowned lightly.

"Neither do I..." he muttered. "Get on finding out where those flowers are from."

"Yes sir." she nodded and turned to the doorway.

"Oh, and Agent...?"

"Hand, sir. Victoria Hand."

"Right, Agent Hand, keep this between us." he said with a smile.

"Of course sir." she said with a nod before she walked out of the room.

He sat there behind his desk before he picked up the paper, and walked over to the window, his hands behind his back as he looked out the window of the Oscorp building.

This was not according to plan.

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**_Reviews make me write faster! *Hint... Hint...* ;)_**


	24. Chapter 24

**_Hey ya'll! Here's chapter 24, things are going good right now for everyone, which is nice, but I wouldn't get too comfortable with it. You never know what could happen next! =D  
_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own anything Marvel. Obviously. I hope you like this chapter!_**

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"You know, if you're going to stand there, I'm sure there's more you could be doing then just staring at my ass." I said to Bruce, who I could practically feel standing behind me. It was the day after we had gotten there and I was currently looking for a secret notch on the trunk at the bottom of the bed.

"I'm kind of enjoying myself right now." he said and I straightened up making him sigh. I turned around and looked at him; he simply smiled and walked over to me. "How did you talk with your grandmother go?" he asked and I sighed as I rested my forehead on his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around me and I groaned. "That well huh?"

"No, it went fine, aside from the part where my grandmother informed me I'm a mutant who was practically born to work for SHIELD." I said before I looked up at him. "Oh, and we're going to my parent's house in an hour." I said before patting his shoulder.

"Is that a good idea?" he asked. "I mean they've been led to believe that we're dead for all this time and just showing up- with two kids, one of which isn't even ours- no less, that could shock them..." he shrugged.

"Okay honey, number one, I may not have given birth to her, but Amanda is mine," I said as I held up a finger. "And number two, they think we were witnesses to a mob hit and had to go into witness protection."

"They bought that?" he asked and I shrugged.

"It's New York, anything could happen." I said as I waved my hand.

"Where are the girls?" he asked and I nodded to the window.

"Outside." I said and he nodded as he walked out and looked outside. The girls were running around in the very large yard, playing some form of game that resembled Indiana Jones by the way they were shrieking about golden temples and giant rocks.

"And Thor is downstairs watching tv, and Erik is in the basement with MeeMaw doing some SHIELD related work, which gives us an hour of nothing to do." he said as he moved over to me.

"Oh," I said before he kissed me. I kissed him back, but when he pulled back he seemed to sense my hesitation.

"What's wrong?" he asked and I smiled gently.

"Nothing, nothing, I just- MeeMaw asked me to go over some things, for SHIELD." I said softly and he sighed.

"You can't look over things for them. Next thing you'll know they'll have you suiting up and fighting alongside us." he said as he sat on the side of the bed.

"Hey, I could kick some butt." I said as I held up a karate looking stance. He laughed and raised an eyebrow as he got off the bed. "What are you doing?" I asked as he stood in front of me.

"Come on, let me show you what you're doing wrong."

"Since when do you know karate?" I asked and he frowned lightly

"It's not karate, it's common sense, come on, try to attack me." he said and I looked at him hesitantly. "You're my wife, I'm not going to hurt you." he said rolling his eyes. I sighed and frowned at him.

"You're serious right now honey?" I asked and he nodded.

"Just, try it." he said, and I nodded before I took a stance again, and attempted to punch him. He caught my arm easily and pulled me close to him. "Wrong." he said before kissing me.

"How would you know?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow, shooting me a semi amused half smile that just made me want to jump on him.

"I wasn't just learning breathing techniques in Rio de Janero." he said as he let go of my arm. "Turn around," he said and I did as he said, before standing behind me, he corrected my posture, and the way I held my arms before he stood back in front of me. "Okay, try again." he said and I nodded before I went to throw a punch, he caught my fist easily since he knew it was coming, but this time he looked proud as he pulled me closer. "Good job." he said, before dipping down to catch my lips with his.

I sighed into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck, his hands moved down my sides lightly, before bringing them up my sides, slowly pushing my shirt up. His fingers lightly tickled my skin making me bite his lip lightly in surprise which drew a heated groan from him as I moved in, pressing my body against his.

I slowly parted my lips, letting him run his tongue against my lips, his met mine, and we moved back, I hit the trunk at the bottom of the bed and pulled back from the kiss, before turning so he had his back to the bed, he sat down on the trunk and I climbed on top of him, straddling his legs with mine, he wrapped one arm around my waist, and used the other to guide me back to his lips. His hand ran down my body before resting on one of my legs, I was working at unbuttoning his shirt, while his hand slid up my leg, under my skirt, and the tips of his fingers softly brushed against my panties.

I groaned, thrusting my hips into his, he repeated the motion and I started to unbuckle his belt when I heard a shout from down the hall.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"

"Shit." Bruce breathed as I climbed off of his lap and fixed my shirt, skirt and hair. His hair was sticking out at every angle from me running my hands through it, and I chuckled as he went into the bathroom while the door to the bedroom flew open.

"What's wrong Kayla?" I asked and she grinned holding her hands behind her back. "Whatcha got there?" I asked slowly and she slowly moved her hand out from behind her back to show she had caught a snake. "Oh!" I was surprised, and little horrified. "Go put it back honey, put it outside!" I said as I led her to the doorway.

"But mommy I want to keep him!" she protested.

"You can keep him- Outside!" I said as she pouted, then stomped down the hall, the little corn snake carefully cradled in her hands. I shuttered and heard the water turn on in the bathroom. "Honey?" I called through the door. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to your parents soon." he responded. "I'm taking a shower." I sighed and nodded even though he couldn't see it. The moment was over, and I decided to go searching for that secret compartment in the trunk again.

* * *

When we got to the house I could see cars out front, and hear people out back talking. There were some people on horses in the pastures, and there was an area that looked like it was set up for barrel racing. I sighed as I looked down at Kayla who was looking around with wonder. I then smiled seeing the familiar car of Tony's. A few kids I didn't know went running by, and I looked at MeeMaw who Thor was helping out of the car. Amanda walked over to me and I looked at her.

"What if they don't like me?" she whispered and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Impossible sweetheart. You're family. MeeMaw has already decreed it so."

"So?" she asked and I gave her shoulder a slight squeeze.

"So, you've got a lot to learn about MeeMaw and her decision making powers in the family." I said and she smiled slightly unsure, before we walked up to the house. I looked at Bruce who was holding my other hand; he laced our fingers together as Amanda slipped out from under my arm and went to hold hands with Kayla who now stood holding hands with both Amanda and Thor.

"Are you ready?" Bruce asked softly and I shook my head honestly.

"Who decided a huge gathering would be best for us to come back to?"

"The party was already planned," MeeMaw said as she opened the front door. "You guys coming was just a bonus." she winked at us before stepping into the house. As we stepped inside memories hit me like a wall of bricks. The smell, the way things looked, god it was almost overwhelming. I didn't realize my grip on Bruce's hand had tightened until I felt him lean in, and kiss my cheek.

"Breathe." he whispered and I looked at him, before smiling and taking a deep breath.

"Bout time you guys showed up," Tony said walking out of the kitchen. "I was starting to think you started up to Canada without me."

"We've still got a couple of days before that happens Tony." I smiled.

"Well, what's the rush?" he asked sarcastically.

"Where's my mom?" I asked and he nodded to the kitchen.

"She's alone, something about kicking everyone in the ass so hard they wouldn't be able to- okay, okay, I'm shutting up!" he said as I smacked his arm.

"Do you mind if I go in there alone?" I asked Bruce who shook his head.

"Of course not." he said and I smiled at him before I turned to Tony.

"Take Thor and Erik outside, show them around."

"Show them around, really? Come on guys, let's go see the field." he said feigning enthusiasm. I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen.

"Tony, I told you, I don't need you standing over my shoulder telling me how to do everything." my mom said when she heard the door swing shut.

"I'd like to think I'm at least a little bit cuter than Tony Stark," I said and she tensed up. "Of course, that is arguable." I shrugged and she turned around.

"Sammy." she said in a tone of disbelief.

"Mom, the knife." I reminded her teasingly and she threw it on the counter before I walked over to her and hugged her tightly. She held me crushed into her chest for a long time as I buried my face in her shoulder. "I'm so sorry." I whispered and she pulled back, cupping my face as she looked at me. "I'm so so sorry Mom." I said.

"Sammy, sweetheart, your life was in danger," she said soothingly as tears rolled down my face. "If I was in the same situation, I'd have done the same thing." she assured me. I just nodded, and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, thanking god Dallas had me invest in waterproof mascara a long time ago. "You and Bruce, you're alive, that's the important part."

"Oh mom, it wasn't just for us." I sighed and she frowned lightly.

"Sammy, what are you tellin' me?"

"It's a girl." I said holding my hands out with a smile.

"Oh my god, you couldn't give me any warning, anything?!" she asked in surprise as she put a hand to her heart. "I mean, even that government guy, Phil what's his face, he couldn't even tell me?" she asked and I shrugged.

"I think they didn't want the mob finding out so they could try to track her down and use it against us." I shrugged and she nodded after a moment of thought.

"That makes sense." she said. "What's her name?"

"Makayla. Makayla Antonia Banner. Oh, and mom, we've sort of taken in another girl. She was a runaway, her father kicked her out because she's a mutant-"

"Shhh..." she looked out the window. "Sherriff Bradford's here tonight, and he has to take mutants to the registering place." she said.

"No, that's mutants who are over 18." I said.

"And if they're under 18, their parents can decide to sign them up."

"Jesus, really?" I asked with a frown, she nodded and I shook my head. "Well, fuck that, my daughter is not being signed up, and when all of this blows over, it'll be one of those scary things you read about in text books, like the holocaust and slavery. Which, essentially is what it really is." I shrugged.

"Well what's my other grandbaby's name?"

"Amanda." I responded before I went to the door to the kitchen and waved them inside. Amanda and Kayla walked into the kitchen holding hands and Bruce followed up behind them.

"Oh my lord, they're just precious." Mom said with a grin. I smiled as she cupped Amanda's face, and smiled at her. "Sweetheart, you're just cutest thing you know that?" she asked and then without waiting for an answer she knelt down in front of Kayla. "And you, you're just a doll aren't you?"

"My uncle Steve says I'm Shirley Temple with red hair." she said and I laughed as the back door opened.

"Hon, are those steaks ready yet?" I looked up as my dad walked into the kitchen. He froze seeing us before he looked back at me. "Well aren't you tan?" he asked and I smiled. "You wear sun block?"

"Yes sir."

"You reapply?"

"Twice."

"Did they reapply?" he nodded to the girls and I grinned.

"Every hour."

"On the hour?"

"Naturally." I shrugged and he smiled before he walked over and pulled me into a hug that could give one of Thor's a run for its money. "I guess there's no tapping out of this one is there?" I groaned as I hugged him back.

"Good to see you baby." he said and I smiled, feeling a little winded after the hug.

"Bruce," Dad said when he finally let go of me. "How've you been son?"

"I've been alright," he said as he went to shake dad's hand, only to get pulled into his own rib crunching hug. "Oh, it's good to see you too Nate." he said as he managed to pat dad on the back before Dad let him go and clapped him hardly on the shoulder.

"Now, who have we here?" Dad asked as he walked over to Amanda.

"My name is Amanda Sorrenson." she said shyly.

"Well it's nice to meet you." he said as he kissed the top of her hand and then pulled her into a hug. She giggled into his chest and then he knelt down next to Kayla who was looking up at him with a grin. "And you are?" he asked and she looked at me.

"Tell Grandpa your name honey." I said and she took a breath.

"My name is Makayla Antonia Banner, but it used to be Makayla Antonia Roberts, and Thor calls me My-Kayla warrior of Midgard, and Mommy calls me Princess Kayla." she said and I heard Bruce softly chuckle.

"Well then," he said as he stood up. "It's a pleasure to meet you your Highness." he bowed deeply and she giggled.

Leaving people is hard. Reunions are harder. Reunions when you're keeping secrets, that's the hardest of all. There's the questions, the awkwardness, and the emotion, god so much emotion. I never noticed how strongly I felt these things, but I had never been in a situation like this before. I had never felt so much emotion in all my life.

I must have looked overwhelmed, I was; I was light headed, I was dizzy I didn't know which way to turn without someone trying to talk to me, to ask me twenty thousand questions... Relief came in the form of Natasha Romanoff.

"Excuse us," she said as she took my arm at the elbow. She took me from everyone, and led me towards the pasture where some of the kids were riding horses; they pretty much ignored us as she leaned on the wooden fence and looked at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just... A lot going on there." I said nodding to the crowd of everyone. Thor was hanging around my mom's brother who was grilling, Tony and Pepper were sitting at a table, Tony was talking to a small group of men, all of whom had looks of confusion on their faces, Bruce was talking to Rick, Abby's husband, Pepper was off somewhere doing I don't know what, Kayla was playing with a group of kids, everyone had something going on.

"It's more than I ever had." Natasha muttered and I looked at her.

"I don't know what it was like for you growing up Nat," I said slowly. "But it doesn't have to be like that anymore." I said and she looked at me before she smiled softly.

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_**I know there's more to Natasha than just being an awesome assassin. P.S. Don't get too comfortable. HAMMER and HYDRA will be back real soon. Please remember to review!** _


	25. Chapter 25

_**Hey ya'll! Here's chapter 25! Alright, we've got the return of HAMMER and HYDRA, as well as some stuff at Minnie's family's house. I hope you enjoy it! On a personal note, I went to a cupcake class and I learned how to make pretty roses today! Yaay! My first ones sucked pretty badly, but we had a few free minutes at the end of the class and I finally got it! I was so happy. I also learned how to make edible paint. It was a great class. I hope all of you watched the Mars Rover Curiosity land, it was so awesome! I'm thrilled. And if you don't know anything about the project, look it up, it's so cool. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize except for my characters. Marvel characters belong to Marvel. **_

_**Annnyways, here's the chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it.** _

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"This is what it was like for you growing up huh?" she asked and I nodded.

"This is it." I said as I looked at the crowd of people.

"What are they doing over there?" she asked nodding to where the older kids had set up the barrel racing.

"They're barrel racing." I said and she looked at me curiously. "You've never heard of barrel racing? All those jobs you've done and none of them were ever near a rodeo?" I asked and she frowned lightly. "Well, you are standing with one of the FMBRA's record holders." I said. "Stands for Female Malibu Barrel Racer Association." I explained. "Come on." I nodded to the arena and we walked over there, where Sonny was trying to explain something to one of his girls.

"Ginny, you want to come in a little tighter, the point of it is to do the run in as little time as possible."

"It's stupid!" she protested. "No one can do it in that amount of time!"

"Ginny I've done it in less time." I said and she scowled at me.

"That's right." Sonny called and looked at me with an exasperated sigh.

"What horse is she riding?" I asked as I looked at the brown Arab horse.

"That's Isis." he replied. "I bought her about ten months ago. You want a go?"

"Uh, no." I shook my head with a laugh.

"Go for it!" he said elbowing me slightly.

"I haven't been on a horse in years." I laughed and he gestured Ginny over.

"Ginny, off the horse. My little sister is going to show you guys how it's done."

"I'm not getting on the horse." I said as I crossed my arms.

"I'm actually a little curious now." Natasha admitted and I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"Oh fine, I'll get on the horse." I sighed and Ginny got down. I took the reins and held onto the hammer before mounting the horse. "What is she fifteen hands?" I asked Sonny.

"Fifteen one." he said and I nodded as I kicked her sides, getting used to her for a moment.

"Where's the starting line?" I asked. He pointed to it and I walked Isis over to it. "Okay Isis," I said as I leaned down and lightly patted her neck. "Let's show these guys what we're made of." I knew Isis knew the track better than Ginny was giving her credit for, and as I leaned forward in the saddle I could remember the first time I did that, the first time I rode the way I would at a rodeo, Isis flew through the track, my jean clad leg lightly brushing the three barrels as we flew by, before turning and running back to the starting line.

"Time!" Sonny shouted as we ran past it. "See that! That is how it's done!" he laughed. "Woo!" he clapped and I shook my head with a small laugh as Isis stopped and stood still while I dismounted.

"My knee hurts." I said simply and he slapped me on the back.

"That was impressive." Natasha said and I rolled my eyes.

"I only did it to get Sonny off my back." I said with a small shrug. "You want to try?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Oh no." she said as she eyed Isis.

"Hey if I could get Isis to do that the first time I rode her, I think she's a good horse." I said and Natasha sighed before she smiled gently. "That's what I thought." I said as I walked over to the horse. Ginny had run off and her sister was dismounting Washington, her Camarillo White horse and I walked over to him and took his reins from her. He tugged away from me and I grabbed him again quickly before leading him over to Isis.

Sonny was explaining to Natasha how to get on the horse, and then bent down, interlacing his fingers so she could step into his hand, and use the momentum to throw her other leg over the horse. She settled on the horse and Sonny told her where to put her feet as she clung to the reins with one hand and the horn with the other.

"Lookin good Nat!" I heard Tony call and I looked over and grinned seeing him, Clint Pepper and Bruce standing there.

"That was a nice run Minnie." Clint said and I laughed lightly.

"Thanks Clint." I smiled at him. I mounted the white horse and cracked my neck. The horse stepped to the side slightly, he seemed a bit shifty.

"He got spooked a few hours ago, and he's kind of sensitive." Sonny was saying to me and I nodded. "He'll get over it once you really ride him, the girls are always afraid of the horses, which they pick up on."

"It's like they aren't even related to you at all." I sighed and he rolled his eyes. "Okay Nat, when you want the horse to move forward, give her a kick, like this." I said before kicking Washington softly. He snorted and started to walk forward, a moment later Natasha and Isis were right next to me. "To turn to the right, pull the reigns to the right. Left, pull left." I said as I showed her. "And to stop, pull back." I said and she nodded. After a few minutes of riding I could see her getting more and more comfortable.

"This isn't that bad." she said and I nodded.

"Nah, we'll make a cowgirl out of you yet." I said and she grinned. "You want to have some fun?" I asked and she looked at me curiously. "We used to do this when I was a kid. There's an oak tree out there a ways." I said as I pointed to it. She nodded and I leaned forward slightly, gripping the horn of the saddle in my right hand, she did the same and I looked at her. "Give her a kick; she'll understand what you want when she sees us go." I explained. "Hold on, don't panic, and whatever you do, don't scream." I said before kicking Washington.

He started walking and I gave him another kick, making him move into a jog. I smiled feeling the wind rushing through my hair, I looked back at Natasha who looked startled at first, but was grinning the biggest grin I had ever seen her grin. I looked back at where we were going, before Washington suddenly turned, cutting off Isis and running back to the house.

I tried to correct him, but he had it in his mind to go home, he was running at a gallop now, I tried to get him to stop, pulling back tightly on the reins, he jumped over a tree stump, and landed it easily before he started to buck. I tried to hold on, but when a horse wants you off his back, he wants you off. And off I went. I hit the ground on my right side, my shoulder and ribs taking most of the impact, Washington must have clipped me with his hoof before he went running back to the house; I could see someone stop him before my vision went hazy.

When I opened my eyes Natasha was kneeling in front of me, lightly slapping the side of my face. Isis was standing there obediently waiting next to the tree stump. I tried to move my arm, and hissed in pain. "You dislocated your shoulder." she informed me. "Can you hear okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I can hear fine." I groaned. The sound of thundering hoof beats approaching caught me off guard, but I smiled when I saw Bruce, Clint, Tony and Pepper tearing through the pasture behind Sonny who was riding his horse, Archie. He dismounted quickly and knelt down in front of me.

"That doesn't look good." Sonny muttered as he moved my shirt away to the side. "Can you breathe?"

"Everything but my shoulder is fine, what happened?" I asked and allowed Sonny to pull me up by my left arm.

"Washington flipped. You yanked a little hard on the reins too." he shrugged and I nodded as I held my head.

"Did I black out for a second?" I asked and Natasha nodded.

"Just a second." she said and I sighed as I shook my head.

"Christ." I muttered. "Nat, go tell them not to come out here." I said shaking my head. She nodded and got back onto Isis and jogged the horse over to them, she told them to walk back to the party, and Sonny was removing his leather belt, and handed it to me. I nodded and held onto it before I lay down on the ground. A moment later Bruce was over next to us, he knelt down and I looked at him.

"Thought Nat told you to leave it." I said and he shook his head with a small smile.

"It's going to take a lot more to get me to go." he said as he started to unbutton my shirt.

"Dislocated shoulder Bruce." Sonny said as he moved my semi unbuttoned shirt to the side.

"Yeah I see that." he muttered as he put his glasses on. "This ever happen before?" he asked me and I nodded. "So you know what we have to do to fix it?"

"I'm prepared." I said as I held the leather belt up. Sonny moved over to my side, letting Bruce take control of the situation while he held my hand for support.

"Okay, I'm going to start, you ready?" he asked and I nodded as I put the side of the belt into my mouth and bit down. He straightened my arm making me wince in pain, but bite down on the belt.

"Careful not to bite a hole in my belt like last time huh?" Sonny asked and I snorted, making the shooting pain run up my shoulder again.

"Don't make me laugh you asshole." I said, though it came out really muffled because of the belt in my mouth.

"What?" Sonny scoffed as Bruce bent my arm at the elbow into a 90 degree angle.

"She said don't make her laugh."

"Is that all she said?"

"No, she called you an asshole too." Bruce said simply as he turned my arm so my forearm was lying along my stomach. I smirked as Sonny narrowed his eyes at me, and then reached out to poke my shoulder. I punched him with my left hand and he laughed as Bruce stared at the both of us. "At least wait until I set her shoulder." Bruce said and Sonny smiled at him. "This isn't going to feel great." Bruce warned me, before he took my arm and tilted it out, still at the angle.

I whimpered, feeling my shoulder start to slide back into its socket. Tears welled up in my eyes and he offered me a sympathetic smile before he took the belt from my mouth and leaned down, and kissed me gently. I smiled at him, and hissed in pain as I put the belt back into my mouth, he moved my arm so my forearm was laying across my stomach again, before he carefully moved it back out, my shoulder sliding in a bit further. Tears fell from the corners of my eyes and he looked pained, doing this.

"You know while you were gone, anytime we couldn't find something we'd always say "I guess it's with Auntie Sammy now"." Sonny said trying to distract me. I rolled my eyes, and let out a groan as my shoulder finished popping into place.

"Fuck fuck fuck-" Sonny pushed the belt back into my mouth and I glared at him.

"If I take the belt out will you stop swearing?" he asked and I nodded.

"Ass." I said as I hit him. He made a face as Bruce helped me up.

"She's alright guys!" Sonny shouted as he stood up. The tall grass had prohibited anyone from seeing what was happening.

"Okay, I need you to rotate your shoulder." Bruce said and I did, he nodded as he watched and then felt my shoulder. "How does it feel?" he asked and I nodded.

"Much better." I said as I smiled at him. He nodded and Sonny got back onto Archie.

"Find your own ride suckas." he said before he turned and rode away. I rolled my eyes before Bruce pulled me into a tight hug.

"You scared the crap out of me." he said softly in my ear. I hugged him back, running my fingers through his hair.

"Well, once again, you saved me." I said and turned my face so I could lightly kiss his neck. I could feel him smile lightly, before I stood up. "Careful baby, there's a dip there." I said as we walked back to the party.

"I want you to refrain from using your arm as much as possible." Bruce was telling me as we walked.

"I'm okay!" I threw my arms into the air (Mostly just to annoy him) and was met with a sharp pain in my shoulder. "Ah." I held it and he rolled his eyes.

"Leave it Bruce, she never learns." I heard dad say.

"And what, oh wise deity was the lesson I missed on that little lesson?" I asked sarcastically.

"Sometime your husband knows what he's talking about." Bruce said from behind me, making me smile, turn around and gently kiss him.

"Does that happen?" I asked and he smiled.

"Sometimes." he said with a small chuckle.

"Thank you." I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him.

"For what?" he asked.

"Saving me… And not letting the other guy take control of the situation." I added before I kissed his cheek.

"He knew you were in good hands." He said and I smiled.

Hours later it was dark, and there was a bonfire lit. Some people were playing guitar, some people were helping mom clean up, until she finished and came to veg around the fire.

"So Sam, how long are you back for?" Chaz asked and I sighed as I lowered the beer bottle I had been holding to my lips.

"A few days. Technically we're wanted." I said softly and they stared at us, stunned.

"What for Sammy?" my mom finally asked.

"It's my fault Mrs. Strong." Tony said suddenly and everyone looked at him. "I worked on a program designed to help those who opposed the registration act, in doing so, I discovered the locations of every mutant in America. They want that information from me." he said and Tabby frowned.

"So what's that got to do with Sam?"

"An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us." Natasha said with a frown.

"No, I agree with Tabby. Minnie doesn't have anything to do with this." Bruce said and Clint scoffed lightly.

"Man you don't get it do you, there is no way you could make that girl leave you side, short of shipping her off to a different planet."

"Asgard would give her sanctuary." Thor spoke up and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't give him any ideas Thor." I said and he looked at me.

"I have often thought of moving Jane and Darcy there. Keeping them away from this nonsense." he said and I frowned lightly.

"What happened to them?" I asked and he looked up to the sky.

"They are in Iceland." he said, his gaze settled on where I believed his world might be. "When I was summoned, they were relocated under the Son of Coul's authority." he said and I nodded as I rested back into Bruce's embrace.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand any of this." Sonny said with a small laugh.

"No surprise there." Tony muttered and Pepper hit his shoulder.

"Be nice." she said.

"Sonny, it's time you learn, there is so much more going on in this world then what you get to see." MeeMaw said simply as she sipped her beer.

"Where are you guys going next?" Abby asked and I shrugged as I looked up at Bruce.

"We think they'll be sending us out of the country." he admitted. "Somewhere they won't be able to find us."

"Well shit." Tabby scoffed lightly. "Just when we thought we had you back." she shrugged.

"At least you know I'm alive this time." I said and Mom rolled her eyes.

"Well what have you done since getting back?" dad asked and I shrugged.

"Bruce took it upon himself to teach me how to punch." I said as I looked up at him. He smiled lightly at the memory before leaning down to lightly kiss me.

"Teach you to punch? That's like teaching hipsters to be ironic." Sonny scoffed with a laugh.

"Obviously you didn't tell him about your father." Mom laughed and I smiled.

"Daddy doesn't like talking about his boxing days." I said. "Besides, Bruce wanted to show me how to do something, who was I to say no just because I already knew it?" I asked and looked up at him with a small smile.

"You two are making me sick with all that PDA over there." Sonny said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I think it's sweet!" Pepper defended us and I smiled.

"Thank you Pepper." I said and she smiled at me.

"Hey, Bruce, did Sammy ever tell you about the time in high school when she decided that she didn't agree with dissecting animals, and she stole about five hundred live frogs?" Tabby asked with a laugh. Bruce looked down at me and I shrugged my uninjured shoulder.

"It was wrong for them to be raised with the sole purpose of killing them." I shrugged.

"So, this is what happened," Tabby said as I stood up. "Where are you going?"

"To check on the kids." I said as I walked back to the house. "Go ahead and tell the story, but let me first say, the ends totally justified the means." with that I turned around and walked back to the house.

* * *

"How is the testing going?" Dr. Fleischer looked up at Norman who was currently pacing in the lab.

"Fine." Fleischer said hesitantly. He looked back at his work, before sighing and looking back at Norman. "What's wrong?"

"_Nothing_." Norman snapped at Fleischer rolled his eyes, and moved to pick up his work again, before Norman spoke. "Just the witness story, the thug types at the gravesite, doesn't that seem a little... I don't know, _convenient._"

"I suppose." Fleischer shrugged. "I thought you already decided it wasn't a coincidence."

"Are you done yet?" Norman snapped and Fleischer rolled his eyes before he picked up the slide and slipped it under the microscope. He looked into the microscope, and then moved away, turning his attention to his notebook. He started writing in it as Norman strode over to him, "What are you writing?" he demanded and Fleischer paused in his writing before he sighed.

"It's finished." he said and started writing again. He finished his notes and looked at Norman. "We will need to test it, but I believe it's finished."

"You're _sure_?"

"I am."

"You need a test subject?"

"Yes." Norman pulled his phone out and dialed a number.

"Whatever, get down here, and bring an intern. Bring Agent Hand as well." he added almost as an afterthought. He hung up and a few minutes later Victoria Hand, Agent Whatever, and a young Asian man with longish brown hair and the average HAMMER uniform came downstairs.

"This is John Liu." Agent Whatever said gesturing to the young intern.

"Mister Liu, how do you like working at HAMMER?" Norman asked.

"It's been an interesting experience sir."

"Do you like having interesting experiences, Mister Liu?"

"Well I haven't quit yet sir." he said with a shrug.

"Yes... Well, Mister Liu, how would you like the opportunity to move ahead in your position here?"

"Well, I've been offered a position in the HR department..." he said hesitantly.

"I'm talking about becoming an Agent, _Agent_ Liu..." Norman said with a sly smile and Mr. Liu smiled softly.

"I'd appreciate any opportunity offered, Sir." he said with a nod.

"Good man." Norman said as he led Agent Liu to Dr. Fleischer and sat him down.

"You'll feel a slight pinch." Dr. Fleischer said as he wiped an alcohol swab over the unsuspecting Agent Liu's wrist. Agent Liu frowned slightly.

"What are you doing to me?" he asked just before the needle was slid into his wrist.

"Don't move." Norman practically growled and Agent Liu stayed still out of fear from his superior.

"It should take about an hour to kick in." Fleischer said as he pulled the needle out and taped a cotton swab to the injection site.

"What did you do to me?" Agent Liu asked in a scared voice and Norman smirked as he looked at his watch.

"We've improved you. Someone call Leona, she'll want to see this."

* * *

**_Hey ya'll, just because I love you, here's a teaser for the next chapter. Nick Fury makes an appearance and Minnie is brought up to speed on HYDRA and HAMMER's ongoing search for the Avengers and the Banners, and the gang gets into a little trouble getting through the Canadian border. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please don't forget to review!_ **


	26. Chapter 26

_**Hey ya'll, here's chapter 26! I hope you like it, in this one you get to see Minnie and Fury's little talk, as well as the Great Escape into Canada. There's also a nice moment between Steve and Minnie that I liked writing. I'm watching Captain America as I post this. **_

_**Enjoy!** _

* * *

When I woke up early in the morning three days after the party I heaved a heavy sigh before slipping out of bed and grabbing a thick pair of socks, I slipped them on, along with a pair of sweat pants, replacing the shorts I had worn to bed and winced as I tried not to move my stiff shoulder. It had started getting cold outside, and the early morning it felt like was the worst. I groaned softly as I rotated my shoulder, and then walked over to Bruce's side of the bed, where he was still sleeping. I pulled the blankets up over his shoulders and lightly kissed him before I walked out of the room quietly and down the hall to the room Kayla and Amanda were sleeping in.

The two were passed out, Kayla had kicked her blankets off of her and was sticking her butt in the air making me cover my mouth to suppress my laugh. I covered her with the blanket and turned to look at Amanda who was on the other twin sized bed, she was hugging her pillow, her blonde hair was everywhere and she had also kicked off most of her blankets. I rolled my eyes and pulled them up for her before I went back to the hall, softly closing the door behind me. I walked over to the thermostat and adjusted it before I walked back to the master bedroom and went to the bathroom.

I turned on the shower and stripped before looking at myself in the mirror. My shoulder was pretty bruised, but it wasn't as swollen as it had been the day before. I stepped into the shower and groaned when the hot water hit my shoulder. I shut my eyes and bit my lip before I let out a sigh and felt the muscle starting to loosen up.

After getting out of the shower I went to the bedroom, wrapped in a towel and picked out some clothes. It was a little warmer outside, so nothing too thick. I got dressed quickly and tied my hair up in a bun. I was pinning it in place when Bruce appeared in the mirror behind me.

"How's your shoulder feeling?" he asked and I looked at his reflection.

"It's tense. It feels better after I shower, the hot water helps."

"That's good." he said as he shifted my shirt to the side. "It's still pretty bruised."

"Is that normal?"

"Well it's been three days, so yeah, that's normal." he said before he lightly kissed the bruise, his lips just barely brushing over it. I smiled lightly before I turned and kissed him gently. He leaned forward pressing me up against the vanity table, his fingers easily pulling out the pins I had just placed. He grinned as my hair fell around my shoulders and I rolled my eyes, he pulled back, and ran his fingers through my hair. There was a knock on the door and I pecked his lips lightly before I moved out from under his arms and opened the door.

"You have a visitor." Erik said and I looked back at Bruce. "He uh, asked to speak to you alone."

"Okay." I nodded and held up a finger. I went to Bruce and gently kissed him. "See you in a bit." I said before I turned and walked out of the room.

"Mrs. Banner," The familiar voice of Director Nick Fury said when I got to the basement. "I see you've been spending some time in here." he turned around at the desk and looked at me.

"It's a part of my life." I shrugged as he gestured to the chair in front of him. It felt oddly like being called to the principal's office. I sat down in the chair and looked him over. "So where did they get you?"

"Left shoulder. Right under my collarbone."

"Jeeze." I muttered. "Any lower and-"

"I'm aware what would have happened." he said and I raised an eyebrow, giving him a sharp look. It made him look a little surprised, and then amused. "You look just like your grandmother when you do that." he said and I smiled lightly. "Have you given any thought to what your grandmother told you?"

"My grandmother told me a lot of things, and I've thought about a lot of things," I paused, and then added. "Sir." He caught my eye and we stared at each other before I walked over to the computer and typed in a few things. On the monitor on the wall a large picture came up. "This is what I've come up with." I said and he looked at it before looking at me.

* * *

It was the morning after the party, and getting to bed so late usually ensured I would sleep in for a good time, but I don't know what it was that made me wake up early. It must have been the fact that we had slept over at my parents house rather than going back to MeeMaw's. Sleeping on that old mattress, in my old bedroom, it just made me wake up at my old time. I heard the door open downstairs and I leaned over Bruce to look out the window. Dad was walking to the barn. I got out of bed, Bruce shifted, rolling over and pulling the pillow close to him and I smiled gently as I got dressed quickly and pulled my hair into a quick ponytail before I went downstairs. I followed my dad out to the barn, the air was cool, and it was just getting light as I walked into the barn. I could see dad cutting the twine off of bales of hay, so I joined him.

"Why are you up this early?" he asked and I shrugged.

"Living here I always got up with the sun. Coming back, well, it's like they say, old habits and all that." I said and he laughed. He let me take over while he threw the hay into the horses; I went to the first stall and smiled at Gypsy. "Good to see she's still around." I said and he looked up and nodded.

"Yeah, uh, Hermes wasn't so lucky." he said softly and my face fell. "Sorry pumpkin, about a year after you left." he sighed as he walked over to me. "He was old."

"I know Daddy." I said softly and he nodded.

"I know Pumpkin, it's hard. We got this girl about a year ago, her name is Fawn."

"You don't see the irony in naming a horse Fawn?" I asked and he rolled his eyes.

"I got him off of Drake Salazar when his girl left for school you know how horrible she was at naming animals." he rolled his eyes. "Lord knows, her kids are gonna be called things like Susie-Q, and Harmony and things like that." he said and I laughed lightly as I wiped the tears from my eyes. "About a month after we got her, Fawn had a baby. Little girl, we named her Juno."

"Let me guess, everyone you tell that to asks what your favorite scene in the movie was, or tells you to "Shut your freaking gob"." I said and he rolled his eyes. "Would have been better off naming her Hera."

"Oh please and explain to everyone who Hera is, and tell them it's not an abbreviation of O'Hara?" he asked and I laughed.

"Like anyone today could make the connection to Scarlet O'Hara!" I said and he grinned.

"I've taught you so well." he said ruffling my hair.

"Hey Dad?" I asked as I moved deeper into the barn. I looked out the back and could see the long horse trailer. "You ever go to auctions?"

"Sometimes." he shrugged.

"And the shows?"

"Sometimes." he repeated and I smiled. "Why do you ask, does this have anything to do with that trouble you're in?"

"Dad, look, the trouble I'm in, it's-"

"I know what it is, it's another big SHIELD cover-up." he sighed and I stood there, not knowing what to say. "Oh, yeah, I know about SHIELD." he said with a nod when he caught sight of my shocked face. "Yeah, I was about nine, maybe ten when dad first brought me to the basement, to tell me about my future." he sighed. "I know what you are too. I know all about it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Baby girl, I didn't want to tell you something and change your entire life. Now maybe if you were all blue and furry like this guy I knew in college, maybe then I'd tell you that you were different." he shrugged.

"Daddy I don't think you'd _need_ to tell me then." I said and he chuckled.

"You never know." he shrugged. "What's going on?" I told him everything, everything from how I had been kidnapped, how Kayla was different, how Amanda was different and how HYDRA had teamed up with HAMMER and how SHIELD had pretty much disbanded for the time being. He knew about the Registration act, but since he had never been officially told he was a mutant he hadn't registered, and I told him about how we were considered fugitives because of what Tony had done to himself to keep the names of every known mutant and hero a secret.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked and I looked at the trailer.

"How soon can you get to Canada?" I asked and he smiled gently.

* * *

"My plan is to fly to Washington, and meet my father there. He has a horse trailer and a very ornery Clydesdale. If we get it done on the right days at the right times, he knows the guys that are working the border at that particular entry, they've worked there for years, he's been going to horse shows for years."

"Now you're thinking like a real SHIELD agent." he nodded. "I'll have a friend on the other side of the border waiting for you, right about here." he pointed to an area on the map. "When your husband disappeared after the little Harlem Incident, he had a place here," he pointed to an area. "It's been in SHIELD custody since he left, after an episode where he Hulked out and scared the crap out of a group of eco terrorists who decided to steal his land and build a commune there. Needless to say, that didn't go over too well." he said and I chuckled lightly at the thought.

"I hope they were all-"

"Oh they were fine. A little shook up, babbling about animal testing and such, but, alive." he shrugged. "Now that's where we'll keep you for now, what exactly have you been thinking about?" he asked and I sat back down on the chair.

"I've been thinking about how different things would be if I had joined SHIELD at eighteen rather than going to become an intern at Stark Industries." I said slowly. "I've been thinking about how my family had been involved with this my entire life and how I never knew..." I paused. "And I've been thinking, my... Mutation, it's a survival instinct, right? Well what if I put it to work not only for us, but..." I paused again and bit my lip lightly.

"But...?" he prompted and I sighed.

"But for you." I finished and he smiled lightly.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear." he said and I smiled gently. "We're going to need an agent out there who can tell me what's going on, who can keep us in the loop and to act as a leader for the agents I send to Canada." he said as he reached into his inner pocket.

"A leader?" I asked and he nodded.

"Assistant Director sound good to you?" he asked and I stared at him in shock.

"You're joking with me right now right?"

"Mrs. Banner, when the world is in danger, I do not joke. Talk to me when it's all clear, I've got some ones that'll have you rolling on the floor, but in the meantime, there's no room for comedians." he said and he pulled a leather ID case from his inner pocket.

"Why _Assistant Director_? Isn't that going to be a little weird to the rest of the Agents out there, not to mention unfair, seeing as I'm only just starting and I'm sure plenty of them would _kill_ for the position-"

"_No_ they _wouldn't_," he said quickly and I stared at him blankly. "And that's the problem. Those agents, they're good, but they will not do what it takes to make sure everything goes the way it needs to. They'll do anything and everything according to _protocol_, but I need someone capable of making the tough decisions. I need someone who knows what that jackass Norman Osborn is capable of, and most of all, I need someone on my side. All those other agents, they could be working for us, and they could be working for them. There are only four people in this world I'm one hundred percent about, and because of your past with HYDRA, you are on the top of that list. Not to mention, your grandmother's too old." he added and I laughed as he smiled lightly, something I hadn't seen him do since my wedding. "HYDRA and HAMMER, they all think I'm dead; and it needs to stay that way. _That's_ why I need you Minnie. Can I count on you to be my person on the other side?" he asked and I stared at him. "Or should I go find someone with a fifty percent chance of finishing the job Leona Hiss started?" he asked and I bit my lip before I reached forward and took the ID from him. "Good girl." he said softly and I smiled lightly. I opened it and grinned seeing the SHIELD ID card, along with the badge. It was similar to the one Coulson carried, but mine was engraved on the bottom with the words **'Assistant Director'**. "How does it feel?" he asked and I looked back at him before swallowing.

"It feels right." I nodded and he nodded.

* * *

The next day we were getting onto a Stark airplane with one of the board holders to Washington State where he had to attend a meeting in Seattle. Since he was a scheduled passenger and this flight had been planned for awhile there was no suspicion, and we flew easily. It was the afternoon when we got to Seattle, and we had to get to the border. We took a bus but got off at the town before the border where my father was waiting for us.

"Okay, Sam, you look close enough to Taby, you ride in the back of the truck, bring Kayla with you, Ms. Romanoff, you look like Abby almost, you sit up front too, but remember you two are sleeping in the truck with me driving, they won't see your faces." Dad was saying as we discussed the plan.

"What time do Bert and Ernie go on duty?" Tony asked and Dad smirked lightly.

"Their shift starts at about ten. I've got a motel room just down the street from here, I figured we could all use some sleep." Dad was saying and I nodded.

"Good and that gives us time to figure out what you're going to say to them."

"Come on Sammy, they're old friends, we'll bullshit a little and they'll let us through."

"No offence Dad, but what if they want to look in the back of the van? What if their supervisor decides to make it mandatory for them to check passports and faces, what happens if they got fired and were replaced by younger, by the book types of guys?" I asked and he stared at me for a second and I nodded. "We're going to figure out what you're going to say." I said softly.

At the motel I found myself anxiously pacing, most of everyone else were sleeping, getting themselves well rested for the night to come but I found it impossible to turn off my brain. I decided to walk to the liquor store down the street and stepped outside, silently closing the door behind me, before walking to the corral next to the motel. The owner of the motel had horses and had known dad for years, so he let Dad put both Juno and Ox in there. Ox walked over to me instantly and I smiled as I stroked his soft nose.

"I know how you feel right now." I turned around as Steve walked over to me. "Anxious. Uncertain. You feel like you're in charge of this mission, in charge of making sure everything goes well. Making sure we all get through this." he continued as Ox nudged my shoulder. I gasped, and held it as I stepped away from the large horse. "It's too much pressure to put on yourself."

"It's not just us I'm worried about anymore." I admitted to him and he looked down at me curiously. "Yesterday, Fury, he came to me, and..." I shrugged before I pulled the ID out of the inner pocket in my jacket and handed it over to him.

"Assistant Director?" he asked and I smiled lightly.

"Fury is, for all public reasoning, dead." I explained as he and I walked over to the liquor store. "There's a large number of SHIELD operatives in Canada and Alaska, and there's no one around to keep them in check."

"Why you?" he asked and I shrugged my good shoulder.

"It's in my genes." I said as I slipped the ID back into my pocket. "My grandmother was one of the first SHIELD members, and the first female member." I said and he smiled lightly. "So, I guess I was kind of born to work for them." I sighed. "It's weird, knowing that you're around for a purpose."

"We all have a purpose Minnie." Steve said and I nodded.

"I know, but to know that I was born to do something and I didn't do it until now."

"Minnie, we all have free will." Steve said. "You weren't born to be a SHIELD operative anymore then I was born to be Captain America."

"Even if we're good at it?" I asked and he nodded.

"Even if we're good at it. These things just happen, and if we're good at it, then good for us, and if we're not, we find something we are good at and we roll with it. You may be good at being a SHIELD agent, but you're great at being a mother, and I want you to remember that. They're going to want a lot from you, and you're going to want to give it to them. But you need to remember first and foremost, you have a life outside of SHIELD, whether they like it or not." he said as he put his hand on my good shoulder. I stared up at him before I moved forward and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you." I said and he hugged me back.

"If you were to ask me," he said softly as he hugged me. "Your plan is a pretty damn good one." he finished and I smiled as I looked up at him and wiped my eyes. "Come on," he said as he led me to the liquor store. "I think we could both use one of those... What are they called? The ones with the bull?"

"Red Bull."

"Red Bull, that's right." he nodded and I smiled.

* * *

"We're getting to the border." My dad said into his walkie-talkie, I knew Clint had one in the back of the horse trailer, the trailer fit five horses, and the first two stalls, closest to the doors had Ox and Juno in them, but the last three had different Avengers and my surrogate daughter hidden in them, all staying still and keeping silent.

"Roger that, turning off the walkie-talkie now. Good luck." Clint replied before the line went dead. Dad shut off the walkie-talkie and shoved it under the seat, before looking back at me. I had my back to the windshield, lying across the seats, and had a blanket pulled over me and Kayla, she was asleep, and I was clutching a knife that Natasha had decided I needed. _"Just in case HAMMER and HYDRA have decided to close down the borders and our crossing is a little messier than we planned for."_ She was sitting in the front seat wearing a beanie, and a large hoodie I recognized as a London hoddie of Rick's, with the hood pulled up so you could hardly see her face.

"Evenin' 'Gents" Dad said out the window to the two men checking passports.

"Oh, hey there Nate." one of them laughed. "Long time no see, what are you up to?"

"Oh, just bringing 'ol Ox for show." he said nodding to the back.

"Ox huh? Isn't he getting a bit old for show?"

"Aw, he's a good horse, one of the strongest I've seen. Not to mention some jerk up there says his draft horse can beat 'ol Ox."

"Someone thinks they can beat Ox? Good luck with that!" one of the men laughed.

"These your girls?"

"Oh, aye, that's Abby right here," he pointed his thumb at Natasha. "And I've got Tabby in the back with her little one, both of 'em conked out."

"You got their passports?"

"Course." he handed them over and the guy looked at them.

"So is Ox the only one you've got back there?"

"No, I've got a one year old Norwegian Fjord, her name is Juno if you want to take a look. Trying to get a good price for her at auction."

"What in the _hell_ am I going to do with a one year old?"

"Has she been broken?"

"No, not yet."

"Good luck with that one mate."

"So how long you up there?"

"Few days at best." Dad said and they chatted for a few minutes until I heard someone move in the trailer.

My heart started beating quickly and I felt my face drain of blood.

It was a long moment before someone finally spoke.

"Sounds like Ox is gettin' antsy." one of the men said. "Best get on out of here; I know you've got a ways to go."

"That I do Amos." Dad said. "I'll see you two on my way down again."

"Alright, say hello to your girls when they wake up." Amos said.

"Good night Nate, good drive."

"Good night Fred." he replied before he started to drive again.

I think everyone let out a collective breath as the walkie-talkie under Dad's seat was turned back on.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Tony said into it. "We are now Canadians."

* * *

_**There you have it, the great escape, pulled off. What you can expect to see in the next chapter: An old friend of Amanda's, a nice warning to Minnie and the rest of SHIELD, and the 50 State Initiative being put into action as well as Norman working on his own special project, with an unexpected guest who has a very big, very angry problem. That's it for the teaser, until next time, please don't forget to review. I'd love to know what you all think of this twist I've thrown in, and if you guess the big problem correctly, I'll dedicate a chapter to you! =D** _


	27. Chapter 27

_**Hey ya'll! Here's the next chapter, the big problem is mentioned, as promised. Um, I just wanted to say thing you to the people who review, and I'm kind of feeling discouraged by the fact that only like three maybe for people consistently review. I don't know, anyways, uh, enjoy the chapter.** _

* * *

About twenty minutes later Dad pulled off at a rest stop Fury had told me to pull off at. I carried Kayla out of the truck as Dad led Ox and Juno out of the horse trailer, getting everyone else out safely. Ox nudged Bruce lightly and Bruce grinned as he turned to the large horse before patting him on the head. The horse nudged him again and I smiled. "Alright you beggar." he said as he pulled a carrot from his pocket.

"Where did you get that?" I asked and he grinned as he looked back at me.

"At that little grocery store. I figured I'd better be prepared." he said and I smiled.

"You guys did great." I said as I walked over and kissed Bruce lightly. He smiled and nodded.

"So did you." he replied. As Dad was putting the horses back into the trailer a van pulled up and parked.

"Think that's our ride?" Pepper asked as she walked over to me.

"Dunno, probably." I said with a shrug. "You did great by the way, I'm sorry you don't look like my siblings, or I'd have had you in the front with us.

"It's fine, I'm okay." she waved her hand with a smile. The driver of the van got out making Pepper, Natasha and I stare at the driver, this tall, buff, grizzled looking guy with long sideburns who really made his shirt work at its job.

"Logan!" Amanda gasped before running and throwing her arms around the guy. He laughed lightly as he caught her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey there kid." he said and she let go of him.

"Oh my gosh, what are you doing _here_?" she asked.

"Well, I uh, wouldn't go along with that registration crap, and seeing as I'm not technically American, they deported me." he shrugged and she sighed.

"That's bullshit!" she said, and then cast me a quick look. "Sorry." she said and I shook my head.

"Oh _god_ it's _him._" Tony grumbled.

"Who is him?" Pepper asked and I grinned at her wording.

"Guys, this is Logan, he's a teacher at my school." Amanda grinned.

"What exactly do you teach?" Bruce asked with a light frown.

"Ballet." Tony piped up and everyone looked at Logan who rolled his eyes.

"No one said anything about you being here Stark." he said and Tony held out his hands.

"Surprise." He said dryly before he made a face and turned away from the large man.

"If that guy teaches ballet, then sign me up." Pepper muttered to me and Nat making us both chuckle.

"Mrs. Banner?" Logan looked at us three girls and I cleared my throat.

"Yeah." I stepped forward and he must have given me a doubting look because I turned and deposited Kayla into Natasha's arms and then turned back to him handing him my SHIELD ID. He opened it and then handed it back to me, allowing me to slip it back into my jacket pocket.

"So I call you Assistant Dire-"

"Call me Minnie." I said as I shook his hand. "Thanks for being here even though it is pretty late."

"Can't exactly say no to Nick Fury now can we?" he asked and I rolled my eyes with a shake of my head.

"No, we can't." I said with a small smile. "Fury said you'd have something for me?" I asked and he nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone.

"He says it's untraceable." he said as I took it. "Said you'd know what to do with it." he finished and I nodded.

"Yeah I know what to do." I said before I turned and walked a few yards away. I hit the green button on the phone and held it to my ear.

"Mrs. Banner, it's good to hear from you." Nick Fury answered his phone. "I trust everything went well."

"We're officially Canadians if that's what you mean." I said.

"Good to hear that." he replied. "Logan is going to take you to the compound-"

"The compound?" I interrupted.

"Logan's going to take you there," he continued. "You will meet some of your team. You will be filled in on some of what's happening over here. You will be filled in on some of your duties, and you'll be trained."

"Tonight?" I asked dryly and Fury sighed. "Sorry." I muttered. "Alright, filled in on my duties, trained, meet the team, anything else?"

"That's all for now, Agent Banner." he replied and I smiled lightly before hanging up.

"Okay guys, let's get this show on the road." I said as I looked at Kayla who was still sleeping in Natasha's arms. "We've still got a bit of a drive, right Logan?" I asked and he nodded.

"Sammy," Dad said suddenly and I walked over to him. "If there's any way I can help, let me know."

"I'll keep that in mind dad." I smiled.

"You take care." he said before he swept me into a long hug. "I love you Sparky." he muttered and I smiled.

"Love you too Daddy." I muttered into his ear. He let me go and I hustled everyone into the van before sitting next to Bruce who wrapped his arms around me. I smiled as I leaned into his chest.

"Try to get some sleep." he whispered to me softly.

"I'm not tired." I said softly and he looked down at me.

"You've hardly slept in the past two days." he said as he pushed the hair from my face. He leaned down and kissed my forehead gently, then lightly kissed my lips.

"You'll wake me up?" I asked and he nodded. I sighed and settled back into his chest and smiled as he wrapped his arms back around me, allowing me to fall asleep.

* * *

"According to the files we've recovered from SHIELD before they disbanded, this is where they're most likely headed." Victoria Hand pointed to an area on the map.

"Why there?" Norman asked and she looked through the file before pulling a paper out and handing it to him. "They're sure on this?"

"They're sure." she nodded.

"Good work Agent Hand." he said as he stood up.

"I can have a team ready and mobilized in twenty four-"

"No." Norman said quickly and she looked at him curiously.

"Why not, we know where they are-"

"No, I have something much more interesting in mind." Norman smiled. He gestured to Agent Whatever who walked out of the office, and then returned with an older man wearing a General's uniform, his salt and pepper hair was combed back neatly and his mustache was perfectly trimmed.

"General Ross," Norman smiled as he moved around the desk to shake the older man's hand. "Good to finally meet you."

"Same to you Mr. Osborn." he said, before looking at Agent Hand. "Ma'am." he nodded to her. "I hear you found him."

"That we have General. I'm sure you heard about the attack in New York, the aliens, Loki, all of that."

"I did." General Ross continued to stand and Norman chuckled lightly.

"Oh where are my manner, please, sit." he grinned and General Ross sat down across from him. "Can I get you a drink? Scotch?"

"If you're havin' on." he nodded and Osborn stood up again.

"That will be all, Agent Hand, Whatever." he nodded to them and they both left the room as Norman crossed his office to the drinks. "So, you heard about the incident. Why do you still want him dead if you know he helped save the world?"

"As far as I'm concerned, that boy's body belongs to the US Army. What he's become is because of us, because of our hard work." General Ross said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and took one out. He tapped it on the edge of the desk and popped it into his mouth. "What happened to my best man happened because of him. I know you don't want him dead, I know you want him controlled, and I'm with you on that." he nodded. "Which is why, I think I can help." he said before he held up the folder he had been holding in his hand. He handed it to Norman as Norman moved back to the desk and took it. He read it over for a moment, and then looked at General Ross.

"And in return?" he questioned.

"In return, I want some of his DNA to work with, and official finding for the super soldier program."

"Is that all?"

"I want some of the child's DNA as well."

"Very well. I believe these are terms we can agree to."

"One other thing," General Ross said and Norman raised an eyebrow. "I want to demolish Stark Tower."

"Nothing like a little revenge, eh General?" Norman asked with a smile.

* * *

"Sir," Dr. Fleischer looked at the order that Norman had just given him. "Are you sure about this?"

"One hundred percent." Norman said and Dr. Fleischer looked a little disturbed.

"But letting him free, he has not come to terms with what he is, what if he tried to kill himself, or if he tries to kill one of us?"

"That won't happen." Norman said knowingly. "He's going to go to her. To warn her."

"What is the point of all this work if he's going to warn her?" Fleischer asked in horror.

"He's only going to tell her what will happen, not when or where, no how much of an effect it will have on her life. To not be able to hug her friends, to touch her child, to make love to her husband. The feel the agony that is isolation from everything and everyone you love." he smiled lightly. "Even someone going through that would not be able to describe it. Leona will follow Agent Liu, and when Mrs. Banner has been warned, when she knows what we plan on doing to her, then, and only then will Leona follow through on our threat."

"If we know where they are why don't we just take them, get the child, and go?" Fleischer asked in frustration.

"We have to weaken them. Take them by surprise." Norman muttered as he looked at the map. He turned to him and looked him over, and for a moment, one moment Fleischer saw nothing but a lost expression in Norman's usually cool, calculating eyes. Then, with a blink, it was back, cool, calm, calculating. "Hand," he barked into the intercom to the next room. Half a second later Victoria Hand was there in the doorway. "Start the next phase. Send teams to states, and start them enforcing the new rules."

"What do we tell them?" she asked and he paused for a moment before he nodded.

"Tell them that the Avengers have turned. They are now fugitives, and that this is for their own protection."

"And when Agent Liu crosses the border?"

"Let him. Do not hassle him at all." Norman said decidedly. "For once, Ms. Hand, everything is going exactly according to plan." with that he stood up and stared at the map again.

* * *

When I woke up it was to Bruce softly whispering my name. The rest of the van was empty but us and I looked around. "What happened?" I asked softly.

"We're there." he said and I slowly sat up.

"We are?" I asked and he nodded. "How long have we been here?"

"I just let everyone else get out before us." he said and I nodded as I slid to the door.

"Where's Kayla?"

"With her best friend." he replied and I smiled lightly before I ran a hand over my face. "So when were you going to tell me about this?" he asked holding up my SHIELD ID.

"When did you decide to root around my pockets?" I asked after a moment and he sighed.

"It was digging into my side, I thought it was just a compact or something." he shrugged and I took it from him. "Assistant Director, that's impressive for someone who's never been interested in being a part of SHIELD." he said and I looked up at him.

"You don't know what I have been interested in and what I haven't been interested in. When we met I was twenty six years old and I was a personal assistant, and honestly Bruce, if my family had told me about what I am, and where we came from, I might have picked a different route." I snapped before I shoved the ID back into my pocket and started to get out of the car. Bruce grabbed me by my good arm and pulled me back to him, holding me close.

"So you're saying you regret your life?" he asked. "You regret _our_ life?" he asked lowly and I looked into his eyes.

"I don't regret _anything_." I said softly and honestly, making his grip on my arm loosen. "I just don't like people assuming they know everything there is to know about me when I don't even know myself." I said to him and he let go of my arm.

"Everything okay in here?" Steve asked looking into the car.

"_Fine_." I said as I climbed out. Bruce followed slowly behind me and I looked around.

"As you can see, Fury was kind of serious when he said he turned it into a compound." Logan said and I looked around. There were lots of buildings made to look like log cabins, making the area look like a lodging town.

"Dr. Banner, the main house; that one's for you and your family. They've uh, cleaned it up since you were here last." Logan said as an afterthought. "Stark, you and Pepper will be staying-" Logan's words were drowned out as Bruce stepped up behind me.

"I'm sorry." he said softly in my ear. I turned and looked at him before I smiled softly and nodded.

"Me too." I said before slipping my hand into his. He lifted it to his lips and gently kissed my knuckles. I smiled lightly before I let go of his hand to take Kayla from Thor. He nodded to me and I gestured to Amanda who followed us to the main house Logan had told us about. Bruce paused at the door before he reached up, to the top of the doorway and pulled down a key. He smiled and unlocked the door before pushing it open.

"Good to see some things don't change." he muttered. "Uh, Amanda you and Kayla are going to have to share a room again." he said and looked at Amanda who shrugged.

"I'm fine with that." she said and he nodded as he went to a hallway. I followed after him and he opened the door to a small bedroom.

"Yeah, they uh, they knew we were coming." he nodded and I stepped into the room there were two twin sized beds, one of which I deposited Kayla onto. I slipped her shoes off and took the barrettes from her hair before I started to unbutton her shirt. Bruce disappeared and then reappeared a moment later with her pyjamas and a pull up. He wordlessly helped me change her for bed and then watched as I tucked her in.

Amanda was sitting on the other bed, pulling the laces undone from her shoes; she kicked them off and covered her mouth as she yawned.

"We'll bring the bags in by tomorrow morning." Bruce said to her and she nodded as she pulled her hair out of its ponytail.

"No more moving around for a little while." I smiled and she smiled lightly before she got up and hugged me.

"Good night." she said and I smiled as I hugged her.

"Good night sweetheart." I said and she hugged Bruce after moving away from me.

"Good night Amanda." he said as he hugged her back and then she climbed back into the bed. I walked out of the room and Bruce closed the door behind himself softly before looking at me. He walked over to me and then started to walk away when I moved forward, stopping in front of him, and I wrapped my arms around his middle tightly. He caught me in his arms and held me to him as I clung to him.

"I'm so sorry about what I said in the car." I said to him and he looked down at me. "I wouldn't have chosen a different path, I don't regret anything, I mean, except for what I said in the car, and that comment about how old I was when we met, and-"

"Honey." he cut me off. "Breathe, please." he put his hands on my shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked and I nodded. "You haven't slept much in the past few days, don't think I don't know." I looked at him questioningly and he smiled lightly. "Apparently I can't sleep when you're not hogging all of the blankets." he shrugged and I rolled my eyes. "We both know lack of sleep makes us irritable, and all of this moving around, running, all of that, the stress, it hasn't helped. So let's just get one good night of real sleep, and forget last night ever happened." he said and I smiled. "Okay?" he asked as he lightly stroked my collarbone with his thumb.

"Okay." I smiled and he smiled.

"Okay." he said, before he belt down and threw me over his shoulder.

"Bruce!" I shrieked and he laughed as he carried me down the hall. "Oh, no!" I laughed as I tried to hold onto his shoulders, only for him to pause as there was a knock on the front door. "Put me down!" I laughed as he turned and walked back to the front door.

"Not on your life." he laughed as we got to the living room. He opened the door with a laugh as I protested being manhandled like that. "Yeah?" he asked whoever was behind the door.

"Uh, I'm looking for Director Banner?" the person asked rather than said.

"One second." Bruce said, before he closed the door again. "Director?" he asked me and I sighed.

"Yeah, uh, for all public purposes, the world thinks Director Fury is dead. So... Publically speaking, I'm the new head of SHIELD." I explained. He put on hand on my ass to keep me from falling as he bent over and put me down on the ground, but left his hand where it was as he straightened up, and pushed me against his body. "Bruce, I need to answer the-"

"One kiss." he interrupted me and I rolled my eyes. "Come on, just one."

"It's never just one with you." I said as he put his other hand on the back of my head and pushed me in.

"You know you want to." he said softly and I smiled before I leaned up and kissed him. One kiss turned into two kisses and would have turned into more if the person on the other strode of the door hadn't spoken up.

"Erm, Director Banner, I promise this will only take a moment." I broke away from Bruce and sighed before I fixed my ponytail quickly.

"Leave it down." Bruce said as he wrapped his arms around me.

"What happened to one good night of real sleep?" I asked as he kissed my neck.

"I'm willing to sacrifice some sleep." he said into my ear and I smiled as I swatted him away before opening the door.

"Ah, Director Banner." the young woman smiled at me. "I'm Agent Hayes, it's good to meet you." she was a pretty girl with a flawless Alaskan Indian complexion, her long black hair was held up in a professional looking ponytail and she was smiling like she meant it.

"Hayes?" I asked and she nodded.

"That's right ma'am." she said and then pointed to her ID card hanging off of her right breast pocket. "I'm glad to see you've arrived safely and I just needed to fill you in on a few things."

"At this hour?" Bruce asked and I looked at him. She looked a little started, as if she hadn't realized he had been standing there and I rolled my eyes.

"I am aware it's late, I apologize Dr. Banner," she said and for the first time I noticed what looked like a laser pointer she held in her hand.

"What do you need to fill me in on Agent Hayes?" I asked and she cleared her throat.

"There will be a debriefing in the morning at nine am, at ten am you will be able to meet and talk to all of the Agents here and find out what it is we've been working on, uh and we'll be able to discuss the status of what's going on in the United States to a further extent as well as map out the probability of Norman Osborn's next move."

"Okay and who's doing the debriefing?" I asked and she stayed silent. "Oh." I said and she smiled lightly.

"I'm sure whatever you say will be fine." she said and then paused. "Agent Bluefox sent this for you," she said as she held up a keychain. "I'll be along to collect you in the morning." she said and I took the keychain from her.

"Thank you Agent Hayes." I said and she nodded before she turned, turning on the little laser pointer thing and waving it from side to side as she walked.

"Told you to leave your hair down." Bruce said to me and I looked back at him before I pulled it out of the ponytail and let it fall down and around my shoulders.

* * *

**_Hey guys, uh, just so you know, your reviews are what keeps me updating as quickly as I do, and I don't know, like I said, only a few people really review consistently, and to you guys who do, I love you for it, you keep me going. But anyways, I guess what I'm saying is I don't know if you all are enjoying the story or not, I need a little feedback. _**


	28. Chapter 28

**_Hey ya'll, I just want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad you do like the story, and to the person who said it was moving a little slowly, that was on purpose. It's going to be picking up a bit in the next chapter. Anyways, this is for all of you who reviewed, thank you so much. This chapter has a little bit of messing with Tony since he's always messing with other people I thought it would be fun to mess with him a bit. Enjoy! _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel characters. Any of them._ **

* * *

The next morning I woke up in Bruce's arms, as I lay there I realized that he had been right. I had been stressed, and I had been talking it out on him. I sighed as I thought back to the night before and I smiled before I gently kissed his chest. He sighed in his sleep and I got out of bed before pulling on one of his shirts. I went to the girls' room and looked in there, they were both still sleeping so I went to the kitchen and sighed seeing no coffee around. I went bathroom next and took a nice shower before getting out and realizing that our bags were still in the car.

I had a backpack in the bedroom with clothes for the girls and for Bruce, but all there was of mine in it was underwear, hair and tooth brush and a pair of yoga pants. I went to the bedroom and got on my underwear and the yoga pants before putting his button down shirt back on and my sneakers from the night before. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and went outside to where we had parked the van the night before and sighed seeing it had moved.

"Looking for someone?" I jumped hearing someone behind me and turned around to see Logan there.

"Yeah anyone who knows where the van went, I think I left our bags in the trunk." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah it's this way." he said and nodded with his head. I followed after him and he looked down at me. "So Assistant Director huh?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yup." I said with a small smile. "How did you get involved with them?"

"Some of the people who had been at the school longer, they knew about SHIELD, when Stark took Amanda that day, they get me in touch with this guy, Coulson, I called him when I got to Canada again." he said as we got to a building. He opened the door for me and I stepped inside, followed by him. It was a jet hangar, with two jets and a helicopter inside. I smiled seeing them, and Logan led me to an elevator.

"SHIELD really has kept up with this place huh." I muttered and he nodded. We stepped into the elevator and went down to the next level where I was greeted with the familiar sight of Tony working on a suit. I smiled at the sight and he winked as I walked in.

"Well it's about time you decided to show up," he said. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"It's seven forty five."

"That's right- Well, seven forty three actually, I see you're a fan of rounding up, you always were, but anyway, it's seven forty four!" he said and I laughed.

"I don't work for you anymore Tony." I pointed out and he sighed.

"Tell that to the accounting, they've had you on payroll since you came back from Maine." he said pointedly and I stared at him in surprise.

"You're kidding right."

"You know now that you mention it, I did hear a good one about us, okay, so the Avengers walk into a bar and- Do they have bars in Canada? Hey, Swan Lake, they have bars here right?" Tony asked Logan who grumbled something under his breath.

"Tony, I've got a lot going on this morning, I have to go find our bags."

"You know Director Banner, you could just have one of your minions find it." he said as I started to follow Logan. "I already did!" he added and we both paused. He nodded to a pile of bags on the floor next to the table he was working on and I smiled lightly. "I was gonna have someone bring them to you last night, but uh, Pepper distracted me."

"Okay Tony-"

"Twice." he said with a nod and I laughed as Logan looked mostly disturbed.

"Thanks Stark." I said as I kissed his cheek.

"Oh yeah kiss on the cheek from the new director. You're lucky I never would have let Fury do that." he winked and I rolled my eyes as I picked up two of the bags, Logan quickly took the third and took one from me, before leading me back to the door. "Hey, Minnie, I'll see you at the meeting." he called and I nodded as I stepped onto the elevator with Logan.

"How the hell do you stand that guy?" he muttered and I smiled up at him.

"I worked for him for a long time, and I was his personal assistant for awhile. Spending that much time with him, you get used to it." I shrugged and he shook his head.

"I don't think I could get used to that." he said and I shook my head.

"He's really sweet when you get to know him. He's..." I paused. "He's one of my best friends." I nodded and he raised his eyebrows before looking forward. We walked out of the elevator and were met by three agents waiting for us.

"Excuse me, Director Banner?" one of them asked and I looked at him. He was middle aged, kind of pudgy, and looked like a desk agent.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted a chance to meet you before you had that meeting this morning," he said quickly. "My name is Ira Hanks."

"Good to meet you Agent Hanks." I said as I shook his hand.

"This is Jeremy Butler,"

"Agent Butler," I shook his hand with a smile.

"And this is Elizabeth Wells."

"Agent Wells," I smiled at her. "Are you a Lizzy or a Beth?"

"I'm a Libby." she said and I nodded.

"Good, I knew a Beth once. She stole my boyfriend at the time." I said and she laughed. "Alright, well, if that's all, I've really got to-"

"Actually Director, while you're here, if you could just come over here and take a look at this-"

"Good morning." a familiar voice said and I smiled seeing Agent Coulson. The other agents must have answered to him because they instantly grew quiet as he drew nearer.

"Phil," I smiled and he smiled at me. "Good to see you. How's Heather?"

"She's good. She's here." he added and I smiled.

"Oh, great, at least I'll know someone around here." I chuckled and Phil nodded.

"Looks like Logan is going to escort you back to your house, do you have any questions?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No, yeah, one actually, who do you have to kill to get a cup of coffee around here?" I asked and he laughed.

"I'll see what I can do." he smiled. I nodded and he made sure we got out of the hangar without anyone trying to get my immediate attention.

"You've never met any of those people?" Logan asked and I smiled as I shook my head.

"Just Phil."

"And you're the Assistant-"

"Actually Logan, I'm their Director." I said as I looked at him. He looked down at me and I caught his eye. "Nick Fury is dead." I said pointedly and he nodded, understanding my meaning.

"How did you swing Director?" he asked and I smiled.

"I've got good genes." I shrugged. He snorted and we got to the house.

"Well, Director Banner," he said as I opened the door and put the bag I was holding inside. "Here's where I leave you."

"Thanks for your help Logan." I said and he nodded as he handed me the other two bags.

"Hey," I heard from inside the house. I turned and saw Bruce standing there with a towel around his waist, holding a toothbrush. "Morning Logan."

"Dr. Banner." he nodded.

"Morning." I smiled as Bruce went to kiss me. "Go finish brushing your teeth." I laughed. He rolled his eyes and I pushed him away playfully. "I'll see you later Logan, thanks again." I laughed as I stepped inside.

"See you later." he said and I shut the door.

"Come here," Bruce said pulling me to him. I smiled as I lightly pecked his lips.

"Finish brushing your teeth." I said and he sighed as I moved away from him.

"You know it's kind of unsettling, waking up and you're gone." he said to me as I opened my bag and smiled seeing my clothes. I took the bag along with his bag into the bedroom and threw them both on the bed.

"I had to go find some clothes if I'm expected to be at some sort of debriefing meeting today."

"And you walked around SHIELD agents dressed like that?" he asked with a laugh.

"Oh whatever _Dallas_." I said and he looked into the room, with a hand over his heart.

"Oh _ow_, that _hurts_." he said with a hurt look on his face.

"Why does it hurt, you love Dallas." I said looking at him. "And don't try to deny it; I've seen the way you two look at each other." I winked and he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, you're going to go _there_ are you?" he asked and I smiled.

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" I asked and he grinned as he walked over to me. I giggled lightly as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around me, holding me up, I opened my legs, clinging to his hips with my thighs as he pressed me up against the wall, anchoring me there, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, running one hand through his damp dark curls.

"What do you say?" he asked and I smiled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I grinned before rocking my hips lightly. He drew in a breath and was about to say something when the door opened.

"Hey Minnie, have you seen- Oh _Sorry_!"

"_Shit_." Bruce said in surprise as he let go of my legs. I gasped, he caught me quickly and set me down as Amanda slammed the door, I looked at him, he was turning red and I laughed.

"Well that'll remind her to knock." I said with a laugh and he ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, and Honey?" I asked and he looked over at me. "At least you still had your towel on." I shrugged and his face turned deeper red. I laughed as I got on some clothes quickly and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I put on a little makeup while Bruce got dressed silently, looking slightly disturbed still. "Stop thinking so hard." I said. "Your hair will catch on fire."

"I don't know what to say to her." he said and I laughed.

"Honey, I'll talk to her. She's sixteen; it's not like she doesn't know what sex is." I said with a smile.

"I know, I know, I just-"

"I know." I said and I kissed his cheek. "I've got that meeting- god it feels weird saying that." I shook my head.

"Why, you used to have meetings with Tony all the time." he said and I sighed.

"I know, but this time it's different." I sighed.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, we'll all be right there with you." he said and I smiled.

"Actually it does make me feel better." I said and he nodded as he pulled his shoes on. I put my SHIELD ID into my inner pocket and walked over to the girls' bedroom and knocked. Amanda called a muffled 'Come in' and I walked in. She was still really red in the face and I smiled as I sat down on the side of the bed. "Kayla did you go potty yet?" I asked and she looked to the side for a moment before jumping up and running to the bathroom. "Bruce, help her get dressed when she's out." I called to him.

"Okay." he replied. "Uh, where's her bag?"

"By the door." I responded and he walked out of our bedroom and went to the bag. I walked back into the bedroom and shut the door before sitting on the side of the bed again with a small smile.

"Minnie I am so so so sorry." she said as she looked up, but not at me.

"Honey, it's okay." I laughed. "I'm sure you know about sex and everything, right?"

"Just what they taught us in school." she said and I smiled.

"The mechanics of it, right?" I asked and she nodded. "Right, well, you don't need to worry about sex right now, I mean, I know you're a young woman, you'll be feeling things-"

"All I feel right now is embarrassment." she said quickly and I laughed.

"Honey, its fine. Look, just... I'm always here to talk to you about anything you need, ever, but let's just say, uh, if the door is closed to the bedroom, just knock, okay?" I asked and she nodded with a blush. "It's fine; I remember the first time I walked in on my parents." I shuttered. "And let's just say, it wasn't as tame as what you just walked in on." she made a face and I nodded. "Yeah not something you want to see when you're nine years old. And I wasn't fortunate enough to know about sex-ed yet." I said and her grimace deepened.

"I guess, I mean, my mom died when I was little, and my dad, he just let me learn at school and he never really had girlfriends or anything, and he was never around, so you and Bruce, you guys are the closest things to parents I've ever had." she shrugged.

"Well, sweetie," I said with a smile. "We've both considered you our daughter for a long time." I said and she looked at me with large eyes.

"You have?" she asked and I nodded.

"_Of course_ honey, do you really think we'd keep dragging you around from place to place if we didn't?" I asked and I wrapped my arm around her. "Face it, you just walked in on your parents for the first time." I shrugged and she groaned.

"Oh god, stop." she said as she rested her head on my shoulder. I gave her arm a squeeze. "If it makes you feel any better, Bruce had absolutely no idea what to say right now, he's mortified too." I nodded and she let out a small laugh.

"God I can only imagine what Tony would say if he finds out."

"Oh he'll find out." I rolled my eyes and she looked at me in horror. "He finds out everything." I nodded.

"But- But I-"

"The thing to do is just roll with it. And hey, Tony finding out, not the worst thing that could happen. It's embarrassing for you, sure, but every morning after he finds out, he'll be asking either me, or Bruce, or both of us, if we had a good night or if one of the kids walked in." I said and she rolled her eyes. I paused as I thought about it and then smiled. "Do you want to mess with him?" I asked and she looked at me curiously.

* * *

The debriefing went by smoothly, I was brought up to speed on what was going on in the states, there were some issues with moving equipment to Canada and while we still had a few friends in the government, it was hard finding people willing to support us for the time being. We decided to play a wait and see game, I decided I wanted detailed files about each project that was happening within our base so I could better understand it, and Phil backed me up on that order. "So, your first order of business, how did it feel?" Tony asked.

"Weird." I said with a small laugh.

"As weird as your kid walking in on you this morning?" he asked and I shot him a glare. "Hey don't blame me, your husband had this look of utter horror on his face when he walked in, I guessed either you were pregnant or one of the kids figured out how babies are made." he shrugged and I rolled my eyes as I sipped the coffee Phil had gotten for me. "So which one was it? I hope it was the older one."

"It was Amanda." I confirmed. "Poor thing, she's mortified, she won't talk about it with me." I sighed.

"Aw, she'll get over it." he said and I smiled lightly.

"I hope so." I said and he clapped me on the shoulder.

Later that day I went to where Tony had been working on his new suit. He was talking with Clint and Bruce while Steve was making an adjustment on his shield, the hold was a little loose he informed me.

"Hey guys." I smiled and they looked over at me. "Sorry, I just wanted to borrow Clint for a sec." I said and Clint walked over to me.

"What's up?" he asked as we walked away from Bruce and Tony. The elevator came down behind us and opened, showing Amanda who was biting her lip lightly.

"Hey Blondie." Tony said to Amanda who rolled her eyes slightly before she smiled at him, still looking a little uncomfortable.

"Tony can I ask you something?" I heard her ask and he looked a little surprised but he nodded.

"So I was wondering," I said as Tony and Amanda moved away from Bruce who went to talk to Steve. "Do you think either you or Natasha would have any time to train me a little?" I asked and he looked a little surprised.

"Sure, I mean, in what?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm kind of a wimp over here, and sure I've got, what Tony calls, a Big Green Bodyguard, but if something were to happen like what happened before Kayla was born, well I'd like to be able to defend myself." I answered and he nodded, I could see Tony look at Amanda questioningly and I smiled. "Wait, shh, you've got to hear this." I muttered.

"What's going on?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Tony told you she walked in on me and Bruce this morning." I said and he nodded looking slightly uncomfortable. "Such a yenta." I muttered and he smiled. "We decided to mess with Tony a little." I shrugged and he looked at me with a smirk.

"Well, um, I don't know if you heard, but I kinda walked in on Minnie and Bruce this morning." she mumbled and Tony suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. Teasing me and Bruce about it was no problem, but when she came up to him to ask him about it, suddenly he wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

"Uh huh." he said, his eyes moved over to me and I pointed at an area on the folder I was holding open, keeping a straight face. If there was anything college taught me it was how to keep a poker face thanks to many lost games of strip poker. Clint nodded and I turned a page.

"And, um, I mean I kind of know like, what was going on, but um, I was really sheltered and there's some things that don't make sense to me." she continued and Tony's eyes shot back to her.

"You're kidding right?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"So _anyways_," she continued. "I mean, you've had a lot of girlfriends, right?" she asked and he shook his head.

"Not really no, are you sure you don't want to talk to, oh I don't know, Pepper, Minnie, Natasha, hell even _Coulson_ about this?" he asked and she sighed.

"Well I mean, you've been with a lot of girls, so you know this stuff right?" she asked and he ran a hand over his face, growing very uncomfortable.

"I- don't-"

"Does it _work_ if you're not laying down?" she asked and the look on his face when she asked, Clint and I both burst out laughing, I was holding onto him to keep from falling over.

"Oh my god, your face!" Clint laughed. "Oh god I wish I had a camera." he laughed and Tony turned red, making it one of the few times I've ever seen Tony blush.

"Well played Blondie." he nodded to her while Amanda cracked up.

"Oh god Tony, your face, it was priceless!" I laughed.

"You are so fired." he said pointing to me. br BrBR "I don't work for you Tony." I said with a grin.

"You're right, you don't." he said thoughtfully. "Amanda, you want a job?"

"What?" she asked and he raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want a job?"

"Uh... Sure?" she asked.

"Good, you're fired." he said and I rolled my eyes. "Actually, that's a good idea." he said thoughtfully.

"Tony she's sixteen." I protested.

"Prefect age to start, plenty of room for moving up." he said casually. "Okay, yeah, you're hired." he said and she looked at me.

"What just happened?" she asked. Bruce and Steve were still cracking up from the look on Tony's face.

"You're not hiring my sixteen year old." I said and he narrowed his eyes.

"It's already done."

"Undo it." I said as I put my hands on my hips.

"Or what, you'll get all SHIELD on me?" he asked and I smirked lightly.

"Or I'll call your wife." I said and he looked at me slightly startled.

"Amanda, you're an intern." he said after a moment and I rolled my eyes.

"Until you go back to school, speaking of which-"

"Speaking of which, come learn science!" he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her over to the work bench they were working on. I rolled my eyes and looked at Clint who looked me over before smiling.

"Ready?" he asked and I frowned.

"For what?" I asked.

"Training." he replied.

"What, now?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Got anything better going on?" he asked and it was my turn to shrug.

"Okay." I said and he grinned before leading me to the elevator.

* * *

**_Hope you liked it! Please don't forget to review!_ **


	29. Chapter 29

_**Okay ya'll, here's where things start to pick up. You find out exactly what happened to Liu, and you find out what HYDRA and HAMMER had planned for our Mrs. Banner all along. I hope you enjoy! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters. I wish I was related to Stan Lee.** _

* * *

Two weeks went by, two weeks that were filled with me getting used to the whole morning debriefings, along with going over every project that was being worked on, I was reporting everything back to Nick Fury (Secretly) and getting a lot of help from both Agent Coulson, and Agent Hayes, who as I found out was one of the most devoted agents as well as being blind. She had been involved in what happened in New Mexico when Thor first came to Earth and had been injured pretty badly when the destroyer came down, during her surgery something went wrong and she was pronounced to be blind, however she did not let that slow her down.

Coulson once told me she was one of the more trustworthy agents working for us. Director Fury agreed with that and I kept her around as the second of the two people I trusted the most. Phil being the first person I trusted. Natasha and Clint were training me like I requested, and Amanda decided to get in on the training, as did Pepper sometimes, though not all of the time. Her reasoning was if she was going to miss Pilates, she was going to exercise somehow.

Stateside things weren't doing so well, Norman had activated the fifty State Initiative and pretty soon there were teams of superheroes 'protecting' the states, but from what I saw on Canadian Television, as well as the international Television Tony somehow got us connected to (I didn't ask, he didn't tell), it seemed like everything was being run as a police state. Amanda had been thrilled to find Piotr, her crush, had gotten out of the states, as he was over eighteen and refused to agree with the registration act, so Logan brought him to Canada.

"I wish Dallas was a mutant so he could be here today." I sighed one day as I worked on some paperwork at the kitchen table. Bruce was cleaning up dishes and he gave me an odd look, but continued to clean up.

"Kayla, bath time." Amanda reminded her.

"Yay!" she said before running to the bathroom. I smiled and Bruce walked over to me, he leaned down behind me, looking at the folder I had open in front of me and I looked up at him.

"What are you working on?"

"Government secrets." I said and he kissed the top of my head. I pouted and he leaned down again, catching my lips in a quick, sweet kiss. Things had been a little stressful, but we had made it work, even though our time together was really only nights, he was working with Tony and Dr. Selvig on some things, and spend most of his day with him, or with Kayla, but when we were together, I was happy.

"Well what is the government keeping secret from us now?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"What aren't they?" I asked with a sigh. "This folder is all about the habits and laws being enforced in each state." I said as I tapped it with my pen. "I've got to memorize them."

"Sounds fun." he said dryly and I smiled.

"Oh, I've never had so much fun." I sighed.

"Why do you need to memorize them?"

"Because there's a rumor floating around that Osborn wants war." I sighed. "And if he wants war, we've got to be prepared."

"We? We who?" Bruce asked and I raised an eyebrow.

"That's the sixty four thousand dollar question, isn't it?" I asked softly and he stared down at me for a moment before there was a knock on the door.

"Director Banner?" the person behind the door asked quickly.

"Coming." I called as I got up. Amanda opened the door and I was surprised to see Agent Sitwell, one of Phil's teammates standing there. "Agent Sitwell." I nodded to him and he nodded to me as he straightened his tie.

"Ma'am." he said and looked at Amanda.

"Honey, did you ever finish that report Bruce gave you to do?" I asked and she frowned.

"Yeah." she said and I sighed.

"Well how about the one Steve gave you?" I asked pointedly and she nodded.

"Right, I'll go finish that." she said as she walked away.

"Would you like to come in?" I asked Agent Sitwell who shook his head.

"I'm afraid not ma'am, I've been ordered by Agent Coulson to come collect you." he informed me and I frowned.

"What's going on?"

"They've discovered a man known to be working for HAMMER just outside of the perimeter. Agents Romanoff and Barton took him in, and he's demanded to speak to you." he informed me.

"Alright, let me get my shoes." I said as I slipped on a pair of shoes quickly. "I've got to go." I said to Bruce who walked over to the door quickly.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Banner." Agent Sitwell said quickly.

"If my team and my wife are going to be there, I'm going to be there as well." he said and Sitwell looked at me.

"He can watch the interrogation." I said and Sitwell sighed before nodding reluctantly. "Amanda, Honey!" I called into the house and she appeared (A little too quickly) in the doorway to the hallway. "We'll be back soon, okay?"

"Can I ask Piotr to come over?" she asked hopefully and I rolled my eyes.

"No." Bruce said as he looked at his watch.

"_Minnie._" she whined and I shook my head.

"It's too late sweetheart, you can see him tomorrow." I said and she sighed, Bruce turned away and I held my hand up to my ear like a phone. 'Call him.' I mouthed and she smiled before I lowered my hand quickly as Bruce looked back at me. "Make sure Kayla doesn't drown herself in the bath, and don't let her turn to a prune, okay?" I asked and she nodded as we walked out of the house.

We went to the detention level which was two levels underground and I walked into the room adjacent to the interrogation room the man that had been found was in where the entire team was.

"Oh my god he's twelve." I said as I looked through the glass. "We might as well have Amanda come in here, she might get more information out of him." I said with a small sigh as I looked over the young man His hands were placed on the table in front of him, a pair of handcuffs on his wrists, and he was leaning back in his chair, his eyes were closed, but I could see he was awake.

"Well, as much as I like the idea of manipulating information out of people, this guy isn't exactly keeping secrets." Clint informed me and I looked at him curiously. "He's very upfront, he says he works for Norman Osborn, he was experimented on and he's here to warn you." he said and I looked back at the two way glass.

"So what's his game?" Steve asked and Clint shrugged.

"Dunno."

"What do we know?" I asked and he looked at Natasha.

"We know he doesn't like being touched." Natasha said and I looked at her curiously. "He knocked out two agents just by touching them. They're in the Medical bay."

"Okay, no touching." I nodded before I took the file from Clint. "Keys?" I asked and they looked at me hesitantly.

"Perhaps the restraints shall serve a better purpose then we can anticipate." Thor said suddenly and Bruce nodded.

"I agree with Thor. Leave the cuffs on, for now." he added and I nodded after a moment.

"Fine." I said and moved to the door. Steve got up instantly and I looked at him. "Where are you going?"

"SHIELD regulation to have more than one active SHIELD agent in the room when conducting an interview." Natasha said and I shook my head.

"Oh, uh, okay." I nodded and Steve looked at Bruce as we walked out of the room. Bruce nodded to him and Steve nodded back before we walked into the interview room.

"Hi, I'm Director Banner, I hear you've been sent to find me?" I asked and the young man looked up. The first thing I got from him was how tired he must have been, he had dark circles under his eyes, and looked like he hadn't slept in days. The second thing I noticed was the pain in his eyes. He seemed to be suffering and I had no idea why. "Is there anything I can get you? A cup of water?" I offered and he shook his head. "Coffee?" I asked and he again shook his head, his eyes never leaving Steve's form. "This is Captain Rogers, he's here to sit in on this interview, and he will in no way intervene unless you prove to-"

"Unless I prove to be stronger than I look, I know." he said quickly. "Truth is, I am. A lot stronger, stronger than him even." he said, nodding to Steve who shifted in his chair.

"Now listen son-" Steve pointed at him.

"Captain Rogers, please," I said looking at him. He looked at me and I shook my head before looking back at the man in front of me. "What's your name?"

"It's John, John Liu." he said and I smiled lightly at him.

"Well Mr. Liu, I'm Simone Banner. My friends call me Minnie." I said and he frowned lightly. "Silly nickname." I shrugged.

"How are the other two agents?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know. They're in medical last I heard." I said and he sighed. "What happened? Why do you need to talk to me?"

"I need to warn you," he said and Steve tensed up.

"Listen-"

"No, you listen Captain, she's in danger, and it's not me, I'm not here to threaten her, or anyone else in this whole damn place, I'm just stating facts, what happened to me will happen to her if she's not careful, and I don't want to see that happen!" he said and he looked back at me. "You've got a husband and two kids, one of which isn't yours." he said and I nodded.

"That's right." I said and he nodded. "What happened to you?" I asked and he licked his lips and swallowed before he held his hand out to me. I stared at it before I reached across the table.

"Minnie," Steve said quickly and I looked at him.

"Steve, trust me." I said softly and he sighed before I slipped my hand into John's. I instantly felt light headed and pulled my hand back. "Wow." I muttered and he leaned forward, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said as I put a hand to my head. "So, uh, what, you take energy?"

"I take power, I absorb power." he explained.

"And how long have you been like this?" I asked and he thought, tapping his fingers lightly.

"I'd say about two weeks now." he said after a moment.

"And you weren't born like this?"

"No ma'am." he said gently. "I've got a girlfriend and a son who can attest to that."

"Do they know?"

"No ma'am." he shook his head looking down. "No I told them work was sending me to Istanbul."

"Clever." I said and he nodded. "How did it happen?"

"They injected me with this... I don't know what, some serum, and it hurt. God, it hurt so bad and I- I just remember this intense pain, and then blacking out. When I woke up I was strapped to a table and there was this guy talking to a woman."

"Tell me about the guy." I said and he thought for a moment.

"Well he was German." he said and I looked at him momentarily before I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the ID I had taken to carrying around with me.

"Is this him?" I asked showing it to him.

"Yeah, that's him." he nodded. "Hans Fleischer." he sighed. "He uh, the woman, she kept saying how proud she was of him."

"Must be Miss Hiss." Steve said to me and I nodded.

"She goes by Madame Hydra." I said as I held up a picture from the file I was holding. He nodded. "Why did they pick you?"

"Well, believe it or not, they didn't. I mean Dr. Fleischer and them, I was brought to them and introduced and they did this to me."

"Who picked you then?" Steve asked and John looked at him.

"Someone who I _thought_ was a friend."

"So what's the plan?"

"The plan is to do this to you." he said and I stared at him blankly.

"You're serious?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'm afraid so." he said softly.

"And you're telling us this because?" Steve asked and John looked at him.

"I can never hold my son again. I can never be with my wife again. I don't want that to happen to anyone else." he said and I stood up.

"Excuse me for a moment," I said as Steve looked back at me and then stood up as well. "Do you need anything?"

"No ma'am." John answered.

"Steve bring him a glass of water please." I said and Steve nodded. We walked out of the room and I walked over to Bruce who put a hand on my arm.

"I won't let anything happen to you." he said softly and I smiled at him before I cleared my throat and looked at the rest of the team.

"What do we think?" I asked.

"I think he's telling the truth." Natasha said and I nodded.

"I agree with Nat," Clint spoke up. "So what do we do?"

"I want a sample of his blood." Tony said and Bruce nodded.

"If what he says is true, it's not impossible to believe that it's reversible."

"Someone turning him into that though?" Logan asked with a frown. "How does that work?"

"The same way it happened to me," Steve said as he returned with a bottle of water. "And how it happened to Dr. Banner." he continued. "It just takes someone smart enough to find a way, and someone who believes in him to test it out." Bruce nodded and I thought for a moment.

"Do you really think it could be reversed?" I asked and Bruce shrugged.

"There's no way to find out-"

"Without trying." Tony finished Bruce's sentence.

"Steve, you ready?" I asked and Steve nodded.

"So what do the other Avengers think?" John asked when we walked back into the room.

"Now who says we were talking to them?" Steve asked.

"They think you're telling the truth." I replied and John nodded. "Tony Stark and Dr. Banner would like to take a blood sample."

"Why?"

"They think whatever was done to you may be reversible." I replied honestly and a look of hope crossed John's face.

"Okay." he nodded. "But I want to stay here. I don't want my family finding out about this, not yet anyway."

"That can be arranged. In return you'll provide blood samples, assist Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark in what happened when you were turned and you will meet with Agents Romanoff and Barton as well as Captain Rogers and assist in whatever way possible on HAMMER's strategy." I replied and he nodded.

"I'll do anything I can Mrs. Banner." he said and I stood up. Steve handed him the water bottle and I watched as he struggled with the cap for a moment before I leaned over and untwisted it for him. He looked up at me and then to his handcuffs again. I paused and looked at Steve who put his hand on my shoulder.

"You'll understand if we don't take those off quite yet." he said before leading me out of the room. Phil was on his phone talking to someone, while two other agents came to escort John to a cell.

We were standing in the elevator while I went over everything that John had said in my head. It was troubling to say in the least. I felt someone touch me and I looked behind me to see it was Thor who put his hand on my shoulder.

"Worry not Maiden of Strong," he said and I smiled at the old nickname he had given me once before I was married. "We shall not let the threat of that son of Surtur be followed through. He must be as dense as an ice giant to believe it would be so easy to get to you."

"Thank you Thor." I said, knowing enough to know that was him reassuring me.

"What, are you worried?" Tony asked and I smiled. "I'm not, you know why?" he asked and I raised my eyebrow. "You've got something Nick Fury never had. The Avengers, voluntarily on your side." he nudged me with his elbow and I continued to smile.

* * *

When we got to the first level the doors of the elevator opened to a shrill beeping noise and a blue light flashing. I looked at the rest of the team, Natasha and Clint instantly ran to the area where some of the backup weapons were kept, Thor summoned his mighty hammer and I looked at Bruce.

"What's happening?" I asked him and he shrugged, obviously not knowing what to either say or what was happening.

"There's a security breach." Logan said, a set of long metal claws sliding out from between his knuckles. "Someone call the Tinman-"

"Right here Logan." Piotr's voice said.

"Get her back home!" Bruce shouted to the nineteen year old. "They've come for you." he said as he looked at me.

"Bruce I-" he kissed me quickly before he took off his glasses and watch and handed them to me.

"Get out of here, get to the girls, punch in code 11432 into the security system, and stay in the house until one of us comes for you, do you understand?" he asked and I nodded. "Take her!" he said to Piotr who took me by the arm.

I looked back as Bruce's skin took on a deep green hue; he let out a loud deep roar, before turning back. I caught his eye and I offered him a small smile before I was pulled out of the building. Piotr stopped me from moving as he looked around the land, Agents were running all over the place, there was a sound of gunshots, and a loud roar, the Hulk, I smiled at that before I could hear Steve barking out orders.

"Come on," Piotr ordered as he took my hand and pulled me along, we were running when someone started to fire at us. Piotr threw himself over me, his entire body turning to metal, making the bullets bounce off of him. The attacker moved forward and Piotr stood up, spun around and delivered a swift punch to the guy's face, knocking him out instantly.

"Are you okay?" I asked him and he nodded before he started to move, suddenly a feminine shriek for help filled the air, Piotr started to move toward it, and then looked back at me. "Go, I'll be fine, I'm almost there." I said and he seemed to pause.

"You're sure?" he asked and I nodded. "Run home, stop for nothing." he said before he ran off in the direction of the scream. I took off toward my house when my foot hit something, a trip wire probably and I landed face first on the ground. I groaned, and then jumped up, looking around. For once I cursed that our house was a little secluded compared to the rest of the compound, it was for privacy reasons, but at the time being I was suddenly wishing our place was on top of the jet hangar. I started to edge toward the house when someone stepped out of the shadows.

"Mrs. Banner, we meet at last." a voice said and I looked at her.

"You must be Leona," I said with a sigh. "I'd say nice to meet you, but I'm trying to teach my daughter that lying is bad."

"An admiral quality, though not a quality one would expect from the new Director of SHIELD." she said and I shrugged lightly.

"If you knew anything about having a family, you'd understand." I said simply.

"You know normally people beg."

"Those people haven't read your file." I said simply. "I know you're going to do what you came here to do no matter what I say, but I am curious, someone like you, why do you let Norman Osborn run the show? What does he hold over you, why is he in charge?"

"He's not in charge of me." she said and I shook my head with a small smile.

"That's not the way I hear it." I said and her eyes narrowed.

"Whatever you hear, I don't work for him." she said sharply and I shrugged. There was a loud roar and Leona looked away making me run, trying to dart past her.

She had me back on the ground in an instant, struggling as she tried to keep me still. I managed to elbow her and try to jump up, but she kicked me in the chest hardly, making it hard to catch my breath as she stood over me, I stumbled to my feet and she had me back on the ground before I knew it, my head was spinning as I felt something sharp in my neck, and then she was off of me.

"I didn't do this because of Norman," she said as she sat on me. "I did this for Hans." she smirked and stood up again.

"Am I going to be like John?" I asked and she looked back at me.

"Stronger." she replied easily. "The world is no longer your place," a gun landed on the ground next to me. "And your place is no longer in this world." she said coolly.

"At least," I said as I sat up, taking the gun in my hands. "I can make my own decisions, and not look to Norman Osborn to make them for me." she glared down at me for a moment, but then heard something and turned away. I lifted the gun and pointed it at her before pulling the trigger, only to hear the hollow click of an empty chamber. I dropped it to the ground, understanding the symbolism there before I jumped up and ran into the house, slamming the door behind me. She didn't try to stop me, the damage was done, what else could she do? I ran into Kayla and Amanda's room where they were hiding in the closet and I sat down on the ground with them, pulling Kayla into my lap I covered her face with kisses.

"I love you honey," I said as I kissed her, and held her tight. "Remember that forever, Mommy loves you." I whispered before I pulled Amanda into a tight hug. "I love you so much honey." I said as I kissed her face, but kept my hold on her tight, until I could feel pain creeping through my body. I got up, leaving Kayla with Amanda as I moved into the bedroom where my earpiece was, I had left it because we had run to the interrogation so quickly. "Has anyone got a twenty on Bruce?" I asked as I slipped it into my ear.

"Yeah, he just threw one of theirs over the perimeter, why? Where are you?" Clint asked.

"They're not putting up much of a fight anymore are they?" I asked.

"What happened?" Tony asked sharply.

"I'd say it's a mission accomplished for them." I said before letting out a groan, doubling over in pain. I could hear the voices of my friends and teammates shouting things at me in concern, it took them about three seconds to get to the house, Natasha was the first one into the bedroom, and she got me off of the floor, and helped me to the bed as I clutched at my stomach in pain.

I let out another groan, curling up in a ball, tears were rolling out of the corners of my eyes, but I wouldn't scream, I didn't want to scare the girls who were being kept in the other room. A moment later Bruce was in the room, holding up the shredded remains of his pants, he rushed forward and cupped my face as I took his hand.

"What happened?" he asked and I let out a groan.

"Same thing that happened to Liu." I groaned and bit my lip hardly. I let out a long, labored breath and tried to will the pain away.

"No no, this- This can't happen, it can't." he insisted and I smiled at him.

"I hope you guys were serious about that cure." I said before another wave of pain hit me. I let out a small shout of pain, before looking at him. "I love you." I said and he leaned down, quickly catching my lips with his. When he pulled away he wrapped his arms around me tightly holding me.

"Bruce, we need to knock her out." Tony, who was wearing the Iron Man suit, sans the helmet, said and Bruce let go of me slowly. "It's the best thing for her."

"I know." Bruce nodded. "In that drawer." he pointed to a drawer and Tony came back with a needle and a small bottle. He measured an amount and handed the needle to Bruce. "I love you." he said, his brown eyes were glazed over and I smiled softly as I reached out and cupped his face. He leaned forward and kissed me one last time; I let my lips linger against his for a moment, and then kissed his chin lightly before I nodded.

He slid the needle into my arm and injected me with enough of whatever drug Tony had chosen to knock me out.

As I felt my eyelids growing heavy I could feel the pain fading, my eyes never left Bruce's, because I knew when I woke up, nothing would be the same.

* * *

**_Okay, don't hate me for that! I had to do something to show they really are heartless! _**

**_Please don't forget to review!_ **


	30. Chapter 30

_**Hey ya'll, here's the next chapter. Things are going to be a little tense. Stay tuned after the story for an exciting teaser for the next chapter! =D **_

_**Disclaimer: Marvel characters, yep, still don't own them. Minnie is mine though, MINE I SAY! Sorry. It's four am and I've been drinking a LOT of coffee.** _

* * *

When I woke up I was in the hospital bed I lay there for a few moments, trying to see if I felt different, or if I felt anything. I sighed before I sat up, and smiled seeing the hand drawn card sitting on the bedside table next to me. I sat there, looking down at my hands before someone slipped into the chair next to my bed. "How do you feel?" Pepper asked and I shook my head.

"I feel normal." I said softly. "What if it didn't work?"

"Well there's only one way to find out." she said as she stuck out her hand.

"Pepper I don't want to hurt you."

"So let go before it does." she said. "What should I feel?"

"Lightheaded. If you feel lightheaded, let go." I said before I slowly put my hand into hers. She drew in a breath a moment later and pulled her hand away, looking down at it in awe, and then to me. "It worked." I muttered and she nodded. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Two days." she said and my face fell slightly.

"No wonder my back is so stiff." I muttered and she frowned lightly.

"I have to say Minnie, you're taking this pretty well." she said and I looked at her.

"I trust Bruce and Tony will find a cure." I said simply as I sat up and twisted to the side slightly, cracking my back with a satisfying pop. "How are my girls?"

"Worried. Same as your husband." she said and I nodded. "What happened that night?"

"I don't know," I said softly. "I was hoping someone could tell me. All I know is I was trying to get to the house when I was attacked by Leona Hiss." I thought back. "We fought, she won and I got turned into SHIELD's human energy sponge." I said with a small laugh. "Will you help me to the bathroom please? I need to take a shower." She helped me walk to the bathroom and left me alone while I showered, I noticed that someone had brought my toiletries in there and I let out a sigh as the hot water ran over my body, loosening up my muscles.

I looked at my hands before I slowly pressed my left hand against my right arm.

Nothing happened.

I clasped my hands together.

Nothing.

I put my hands to my head, and still nothing happened.

I got out of the shower a few minutes later and wrapped a towel around myself, before thinking; I didn't have any clothes in there. As I pondered what to do there was a knock on the door.

"Mommy?" Kayla's voice called through the door and I smiled as I opened it, making sure my towel was tight around myself.

"Hey baby." I smiled brightly and she smiled.

"Mommy!" she gasped before she moved forward to throw her arms around my legs.

"No, Kayla," Amanda picked her up quickly. "Remember what Daddy said." she reminded her and looked at me with a small smile. "I'm happy you're okay Mo- Minnie." she corrected herself and I smiled at her.

"You can call me whatever you want sweetheart." I said and she smiled gratefully.

"Kayla and I brought you some clothes." she said as she held up a paper bag.

"Thanks girls." I said as I took the bag.

"We um, got long sleeves, we figured since it's cold and everything it wouldn't be any different than what you would normally wear, uh, and there was this girl at school, she called herself Rogue, who has the same mutation as you. We're pretty sure that she was the one they used as a reference, or even her DNA to create what they did to you, but she wears gloves and she's okay to touch people, you know, with gloves on." she shrugged. "So Tony took me to town and I bought you a pair of gloves." she smiled and I returned the smile.

"I want to hear more about this girl when I finish getting dressed." I said before I went back into the bathroom. Amanda had brought me a pair of underwear, a bra, a pair of black pants, a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of black leather gloves with buttons up the sides.

I smiled at them and pulled on the shoes she had brought me before I brushed my hair and teeth and put all of my toiletries into the bag. She had also remembered my eye creme and a few cosmetics so no one who worked at SHIELD would have to see me without at least the basic amount of makeup. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and then as a final touch I added the gloves.

I stepped out of the bathroom and was able to hug Kayla, making sure not to touch her skin, which I'm sure she was having a hard time understanding. She let go of me and I hugged Amanda before I looked at Pepper who was smiling at me.

"Come eat, you need to get your strength up." she said and I sat down and listened to Kayla tell me about everything that had happened in the past two days with Amanda interrupting only to explain something, Pepper was smiling though I could tell she was worried, and Amanda told me that Piotr had locked himself in his room for the past two days and no one knew why.

"He was escorting me to the house," I explained to her as I munched on a slice of bacon. "We heard one of our agents in trouble and I told him to go help."

"And then you got hurt Mommy?" Kayla asked and I nodded.

"Yeah baby, then I got hurt."

"But he didn't hurt you?"

"No baby, I don't think he's capable of hurting someone." I said soothingly. She nodded and stole a slice of bacon from my plate making me smile and roll my eyes. "Kayla, you want to peel the orange?" I asked and she perked right up.

"You're never going to believe who SHIELD was able to get for Kayla's... B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y." Pepper said and I smiled.

"Who?" I asked.

"D-A-L-L-A-S." she spelled and I raised an eyebrow.

"My friend or the other one?" I asked and she smiled.

"The other one."

"Oh god, where has he been?"

"Your neighbors have him. Turns out they think the same thing your parents thought, they were actually pretty understanding of the whole thing. They still think there's a Sasquatch in the woods though."

"Let me guess, a green one?" I asked sarcastically and she nodded. "God some people will never let that go." I sighed.

"Green like how Daddy gets sometimes?" Kayla asked and I froze before looking at her.

"When does Daddy get green baby?" I asked and she shrugged.

"When he's not happy he turns green, but there's a spell to make him normal."

"A... _Spell_?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yeah and then he's not green anymore."

"What's the spell sweetie?" Pepper asked and Kayla shrugged.

"Mommy knows the spell. When we were at that place where I got the book with the spirals and Uncle Tony on it Daddy started to turn green, but mommy said a spell and Daddy turned back. Was he turning into a frog mommy?" she asked and I covered my face with my hand.

"Oh god honey." I sighed. "Tell you what honey; ask me when Daddy is around so we can both explain it, okay?" I asked and she nodded.

"Is this giving you a my-brain?" she asked and I smiled at my inquisitive daughter.

"No baby." I said as I shook my head.

"What's the book with Spirals and Uncle Tony?" Pepper asked and I chuckled.

"It's a science magazine she got once that had a DNA helix on the cover, that's how she remembers it, the one with the spirals. The issue she bought at the gas station where I told Bruce about Brian had Tony on the cover."

"A stock photo?"

"Yeah from the Jericho demo." I nodded and she made a face.

"Why do they still use that picture?" she muttered to herself. "I hate that picture."

"It's kind of a good picture." Amanda shrugged.

"With a lot of bad memories attached to it." I muttered and Pepper nodded. I finished the black coffee as Phil Coulson walked into the room and I smiled at him. He looked me over, his gaze resting on my glove covered hands.

"I see you've figured that out." he said and I nodded.

"My brilliant daughter helped me out." I said as I put a hand on Amanda's shoulder.

"We need you for an interrogation." he said simply and I stared at him for a moment before I nodded.

"I _just_ woke up." I said and he nodded.

"You just need to oversee it. No need to interact." he said and I sighed.

"Can I at least say hello to my husband?" I asked and Amanda made a face as did Phil and Pepper. "What?"

"He, Tony and Erik have locked themselves in the lab and won't come out or see anyone." Phil finally explained. "Every now and then they send for Mr. Liu, but aside from that, they don't see anyone."

"Has anyone told them I'm awake?" I asked and Amanda cleared her throat.

"I'll go." she said and looked at Pepper who nodded.

"I'll go with you honey, Minnie and I are the only ones who've been able to tear Tony away from his work." she sighed and I watched as they took Kayla and left, and I looked back at Phil before I sighed and nodded.

"I guess I'm all yours." I said and he nodded as he led me out of the room. "Can you have someone take care of my things? Bring them back to the house?"

"Of course." he replied before he handed something over to me. It was my SHIELD ID and my cell phone. "I figured I should hold onto these until you woke up." he explained and I smiled lightly as I slipped them both into my pockets.

"Who is this we're interrogating?" I asked and he handed me a file.

"His name is Chad Chambers, he works for HYDRA." he said. "You'll have to excuse us if Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton get a little rough with this guy; all he's been saying for the past three days is "Hail Hydra". With Captain Rogers' help we were able to determine that most HYDRA members would rather die than get caught and we were able to extract a cyanide capsule from his person before he could off himself." he explained as we walked down the halls. We got into an elevator and were brought up two floors where we walked down a few hallways. It was good Phil knew his way around here because I felt like a blind mouse in a maze.

"I want to set up a meeting with John Liu." I said and Phil nodded.

"I'll have it arranged." he said as we approached a door. "This is it."

"Thanks, are you going to watch?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Uh no, this one's on you. I'll have Heather bring you a decent cup of coffee though." he said and I smiled.

"Don't forget, John Liu, I want a meeting with him." I said and he nodded.

"Good luck." he said and I walked into the room. I sat at a desk where I was able to see into the interrogation room, an operative was running the sound system that was recording the session, but the prisoner was the only one in there at the moment.

"Minnie," I turned around and smiled at Natasha as she walked in and I carefully hugged her, and then did the same with Clint.

"How are you feeling?" Nat asked and I sighed.

"I'm good." I answered with a smile. "I think I'm happy to be needed for something." I said as I held up the file.

"You're overseeing the interrogation?" Natasha asked and I nodded.

"Have you... Ever watched an interrogation before?" Clint asked and I shook my head.

"No, but Phil gave me some warning about you guys getting a little rough. Don't worry; I'm just here to watch. Not to interfere."

"Okay." Natasha said and looked at the room. "We ready?" the girl over at the recording system flashed a thumbs up as she hit record and the two assassins walked into the room. One thing I can say about the two of them is they could be... Very persuasive.

As I watched them work there was a knock on the door. I got up and went to the door, opening it just a crack I smiled seeing Heather holding up a coffee cup. "How are you feeling, Phil said you were in the hospital for a few days."

"I'm doing better, thanks for asking." I said as I took the drink from her.

"You know as director I'm sure you can turn up the heat in there." she teased with a smile as she saw my gloves.

"You're right but there's no thermostat in here. I'll talk to someone about it." I said with a smile. "Heather do you have a family?"

"Uh, yeah, my mom lives in the Village with her boyfriend and my dad lives on the upper west side with his new family." she said and I nodded.

"So you and Phil huh?" I asked and she smiled brightly. "He's pretty great isn't he?"

"He's amazing." she sighed and I smiled. "Oh my gosh, look at me, I should let you get back to work, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I said as I shook my head. "It was a nice break."

"We should talk more, Phil's told me so much about you, I'd really like to get to know you better." she said and I smiled gently.

"I'd like that." I nodded.

"Great, well, I'll see you later!" she said before she walked down the hallway. That girl was way too cute to have anything to do with SHIELD.

I shook my head as I walked back into the room, Natasha and Clint were getting nowhere with the guy and they knew it. They walked out of the room and walked over to me. "I want to talk to John Liu." I said slowly. "Maybe we can get him to talk to them."

"And maybe that's what he wants." Clint said quickly.

"You didn't get that vibe from him a few days ago."

"Well I started to get that vibe when we were attacked by the enemy, a few hours after he came to us asking to talk to you." Clint countered back, he was frustrated from the lack of information he had gotten from their prisoner. "How many more people need to be attacked, isn't it bad enough you were changed, are you going to let that happen to anyone else?!" he shouted at me and I looked at him in surprise.

"Of course I'm not, I just think that if we have someone who might be able to get the information out of this guy, why don't we use him?" I asked.

"Look, you don't know anything about these things, you think just because your grandma used to do this back in the day and because you have a shiny badge you get to call the shots? Well guess what, you're just as much an employee as the rest of us, the only difference is; we know what we're doing!" he shouted at me. "Apparently they knew enough to know that you've never done anything like this before, and they obviously took that into consideration when they attacked! They came for you Minnie, because they knew the best way to disable us would be to take down our leader, you're lucky Leona didn't kill you when she had the chance, and the fact that she didn't is a little suspicious!"

"You need to _stand down,_ Agent Barton." I said when I saw his hand resting on the hilt of the knife he kept strapped to his thigh. His gaze followed mine and he let go of the knife quickly before looking back to me. "I may not have been doing this as long as you have but don't you _dare_ insinuate that I'm working for them. Do you have _any_ idea what she did to me? Why I've been in a medically induced coma for the past two days, or is what I am suspicious now too?" I asked as I pulled the gloves off. I threw them on the desk before I held out my hands. "Feeling brave _Barton_?" I asked sharply and he looked at me for a moment before I grabbed both his hands in mine. I let go a moment later and he lifted a hand to his head, obviously looking a little dazed. "She didn't have to kill me because the fact that I'm alive and I'm like this is much worse." I said sharply. "You have a lot to say about them knowing to attack me because it's the best way to bring everyone down, well how do you think that works?" my tone and gaze softened as he caught my eye again.

"They're trying to pit us against each other." Natasha said and Clint looked at her. "It's just like Loki all over again."

"I know you're upset that I'm the one Fury put in charge, I know I don't have as much experience and that this is all new to me, but-"

"That's not it." he said quickly. I looked at him curiously and Natasha cleared her throat.

"We spend the elevator ride up to the top telling you everything would be okay that we wouldn't let them get you, only to open the doors to something that was very not okay. It's our job to keep you safe, and we failed."

"Just like Budapest." Clint muttered and I smiled lightly.

"One day you guys are going to have to tell me about Budapest." I said and they both smiled lightly. "This sucks, okay?" I said as I put my gloves back on. "It really royally sucks, but I don't blame you. I don't blame anyone except HAMMER and HYDRA. Which is why I want to know their plan, I want to know what they're doing at all times, I want to know their weaknesses, I want to get into their heads, and I want to destroy them." I said sharply making both of them smile a little more. "I can't do it without you guys." I said and they looked at each other.

"Remember what I said about you not knowing what you're doing?" Clint asked and I nodded. "I take it back." he said and I smiled.

"Don't feel guilty." I said as I put a glove clad hand on his shoulder. "You did what you could, which is all any of us could do." He nodded and I sighed.

"So what do you say we go interrogate the hell out of Agent Liu?" I asked.

"We'll have him brought right in." Natasha said.

* * *

"Well well well," Tony said as I walked into the lab. "If it isn't the miniature Nick Fury." he smirked as he looked over my black outfit. "Good thing your name already is Minnie, I don't need to spend all that time getting you to answer to a new one."

"I didn't pick out my own clothes." I said to him and he raised his eyebrows.

"Mmhmm, _suuuure_." he said and I rolled my eyes before I looked at Liu.

"I need Mr. Liu." I said and he looked at me. "We need to have a little talk about what happened the other night."

"You can't _honestly_ think I had something to do with that." he said and I shrugged my shoulder.

"Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. Don't you find it a little strange that the exact thing you came to warn me would happen happened only a few hours after you got here?" I asked and I could see him growing a little nervous.

"I can see that it would look odd-"

"More like suspicious." I cut in. "Which is why we need to have that little chat."

"Mrs. Banner, I'm so-"

"_Director_ Banner, please." I said sharply and I felt someone touch my shoulder.

"Minnie, wanna tone down the Terminator act?" Tony muttered to me. "You're scaring the nerds." he nodded to Erik and Bruce who were both staring at me. "You might want to write down increased aggression... Unless it's already the fifteenth." Tony said. "Is it the fifteenth?"

"No."

"Well, there goes my theory, increased aggression it is." he said simply and I rolled my eyes.

"Minnie, can we get a blood sample from you as well?" Dr. Selvig asked and I sighed before I nodded, rolling my sleeves up. I walked over to a chair and sat down while Bruce moved over to me and wrapped a tourniquet around my arm.

"Don't look at the needle." he muttered and I looked away quickly. He wiped alcohol over the area before he injected me with a needle and started to collect blood.

"This brings back memories." I muttered to him and he looked at me. I offered a small smile and he pulled the tourniquet off. "At least I have a better nurse than you did."

"Just relax." he said softly as he ran his hand over my glove covered one before lacing our fingers together lightly. "Don't forget to breathe." I smiled lightly and he changed the vial so he could collect another one of my blood. When he decided he had enough he told me to look away while he pulled the needle out and he got rid of it quickly before taping a cotton ball to my arm.

He looked down at me before he lightly cupped my face. "Bruce- I don't want to hurt you."

"You're my wife, I'll take my chances." he said before leaning down to press his lips against mine. I kissed him back, hesitantly at first, until he pulled me closer, then I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply until-

"I'm sorry." I said as he pulled away quickly. He let out a few deep breaths before he checked his pulse. He shut his eyes and breathed deeply for another moment and I took that opportunity to grab Liu and leave.

* * *

**_See, that sucks. Just when we thought they were over the whole 'Other guy coming out when they touch or kiss or have sex or anything' problem, it gets brought back. As for the next chapter you can look forward to seeing an old _frenemy from previous chapters working alongside Norman and our very large problem Norman has been able to apprehend. There's also talk about a big party, a discussion about returning to the states, Nick Fury, and perhaps a new teammate? So Stay tuned! PS- Don't forget to review! Reviews make me want to write more. **


	31. Chapter 31

_**Hey ya'll, sorry it took me so long to update, I've been busy going to job interviews, I worked at one place for half a day to see how I would fit in, and I'm still waiting to hear back from them for their official word, and there's a few other places I'm waiting to hear back from. It's just been crazy, but here I am, updating again, and I hope you like this chapter. Minnie is starting to get more involved with what's going on with SHIELD and everything. Also, I know I said I'd have the new team member and the big problem in this chapter, but I think I'm going to hold off until the next chapter for at least the new team member. As for the big problem, I want that to be when everyone's in Canada again, so maybe the next chapter, maybe the chapter after. Anywhoo, I hope you like this! **_

_**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure by now you guys know I don't own the Marvel characters.** _

* * *

"Hand!" Norman's voice boomed through the door and she frowned lightly before she stood up and walked into his office.

"You called sir?" she asked and he frowned.

"Why aren't you using the intercom?"

"Of course sir." she said and walked to her desk where she turned on the intercom. "What was it you needed sir?" she asked.

"Hand get in here." he barked and she stared at the intercom for a long moment before she stood up and walked into his office. "Hand, have you met Luke Cage?" Norman asked as he gestured to the man sitting across from him.

"We haven't officially met no." she said as she extended her hand. He shook it and Norman waved his hands around as if to say "Enough".

"Hand, did you contact the others?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yes sir," she said. "The meeting has been arranged for tomorrow afternoon, just like you requested."

"At the hospital?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, very good, leave us now." he ordered and she nodded before she walked back to the doorway. When she was settled at her desk again she started to work before there was a buzz at the intercom.

"Yes Mr. Osborn?"

"Is General Ross going to be there?"

"Yes sir." she said and he stopped talking, allowing her to get some work done. She had noticed that Norman had been acting a little oddly lately, however anytime she tried to ask him how he was feeling he would change the topic. Sure it wasn't her place to question the boss, but she couldn't help it if she felt a little concerned for him.

* * *

Interrogations became normal, training became routine and soon I had a perfectly good schedule going again. It was during one of my private training sessions where Natasha had brought in Steve to help teach me self defense when Phil Coulson walked into the gym. "There's a request to see you Minnie." he said as I blocked a punch Natasha threw at me. Steve was still iffy on the whole punching a girl thing.

"Okay." I said as Natasha stopped. "Now?" I asked and he nodded. I nodded as I took a towel and wiped my face off before hanging it around my neck. "Thanks guys." I smiled at them and they nodded.

"Come on Cap, let's work on your left hook." Natasha said and Steve looked at her with a frown.

"What's wrong with my left hook?" he asked. I smiled lightly as I walked along with Phil. A few people greeted me which I returned with a nod or a greeting of my own, until we got to my office.

"You coming in Phil?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I'll be right here." he replied and I nodded before I walked into the office. There waiting in my office was none other than Nick Fury himself.

"Sir." I said in surprise. He turned and looked at me and I smiled quickly. "It's good to see you." I said as I extended my hand. He shook it, his eye moving from my glove clad hand over my body and to my face.

"You've been training." he said and I nodded.

"I have." I replied and he gestured to my desk.

"Director," he said and I let out a small laugh.

"Can I get you anything Sir?" I asked.

"No, that girl Heather already dropped by, dropped you off a drink." he said pointing to my usual after training smoothie. I smiled lightly and noticed that he had a cup of coffee in front of him. I sat down behind the desk and took a sip of my smoothie before making a face.

"I don't care what Natasha says, there is no way that's normal." I said as I pushed it away.

"I see you're settling in." he said and I nodded. "I'd like to talk to you about what happened." he said and I cleared my throat.

"Did you not get my reports sir?" I asked and he shook his head.

"No I got the reports. I want to talk to you though." he continued and I sighed before I nodded.

"Yes sir." I said softly. I told him about that night, he listened and didn't make any comments until I finished. When I did he wordlessly held out his hand. I stared at it for a moment before I took one of my gloves off and I placed my hand in his. He pulled his hand away a moment later and I put the glove back on. Neither of us spoke for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"Stark and your husband haven't had any luck with the cure yet?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No sir." I said softly.

"I'd like to talk to you about a retrieval mission." he said and I nodded.

"What's the target sir?" I asked.

"There's a young man in New York who has had some experience with Norman Osborn who I feel would be a good addition to the team." he replied.

"Who do you think I should send?" I asked as I pulled out my notepad I used when I needed to take notes on things.

"I was thinking this would be a good first mission for the director of SHIELD." he replied and I looked up at him.

"You want _me_ to go back to New York?" I asked and he nodded. I sighed as I laid down my pen. "The Government hasn't exactly been extending a open invitation to our organization."

"We still have a few friends who would do anything to help out the daughter of Agent Bluefox." he said and I smiled lightly.

"Is that why according to anyone who asks, I'm the director?" I asked. "My unknown political connections?"

"You would do the same thing in my shoes." he said and I nodded slowly.

"Yeah you're probably right." I said gently. "Okay just give me the information I need to know."

"Coulson has all the information you'll need. All you need to know for now is your flight leaves in an hour." he replied and I nodded. "I need to talk to Stark and your husband."

"Right away." I said and I walked to the door. "Phil," I said as I stepped outside the room. "Can you clear the hallways between my office and the elevator as well as blocking cameras in the halls and elevators?"

"Halls and elevators," he held up a small box with a button on it and pushed it making me smile. "The hallways have been cleared while you were in your office, I said Stark had set off a small chemical bomb turning the hallways blue and slippery due to boredom." he said and I continued to smile.

"Thank you Phil." I said before I opened the door all the way to the office and Director Fury stepped out, handing me my smoothie as he passed. I made a face and took another long drink from it. I gagged slightly and shuttered as Phil rolled his eyes.

"You get used to it." he informed me. We followed Fury to an elevator and stepped into it. "Minnie you'll need to decide on a team for picking this kid up." Phil said as he handed me a folder. I opened it and started to read his information.

"Peter Parker," I muttered as I read his real name. "God he's just a kid." I said looking up and Fury nodded.

"Keep reading." Phil told me as the elevator reached the ground floor.

"I thought they offed you." Tony said to Director Fury as we stepped out of the elevator.

"That's what you were supposed to think." he said simply.

"Is nothing I know True?!" Tony asked over dramatically.

"Oh hey Tony, if anyone asks, you set off a chemical bomb turning the hallway around my office blue about fifteen minutes ago." I said looking up from the file.

"I did? God I'm unoriginal." he grinned as the door behind him opened. Bruce and Dr. Selvig came in and Bruce looked between me, Phil and Director Fury before he walked over to me and planted a small kiss on my forehead.

I smiled gently and lightly touched his arm.

It just felt different now.

Everything did.

"Minnie?" Phil asked and I nodded.

"Sure, uh, Nat, Clint and Logan." I said and Director Fury looked at me curiously. "I want him in." I said and he nodded slowly.

"In what?" Bruce asked and I looked at him before smiling.

"We're going to talk to another agent a few hours away." I said. "We're taking the jet we should be back sometime tonight."

"Okay..." he said slowly.

"Coulson why don't you take Mrs. Banner to get everything she needs." Director Fury said rather than asked. Phil nodded and I smiled to Bruce before I quickly kissed his cheek. We had learned that if I kissed him quickly there were no problems. Coulson handed a file to Director Fury before we walked to the elevator and I looked at him.

"I need to stop at him and take a quick shower if we're going to do this." I told him.

"Of course." he replied. "I'll get the others. If you don't mind me asking, why Logan?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I read his file, I've trained with him here and there, and I trust his judgment." I said. "I'd like to see what he's like in the field."

"I understand. But do you think it's a good idea bringing him on when we're going to hopefully collect a new person?" he asked.

"I think we'll find out how he does under pressure." I said and he nodded.

"You're the boss." he shrugged and I smiled lightly as I looked at him.

* * *

Back in the lab Director Fury was handing the file over to Erik Selvig who took it and flipped it open. "Who is she?" he asked as he held the picture out to Tony.

"She doesn't look any older than Amanda. This the Agent they're going to talk to?" BRBRBr "No, that is the young girl responsible for Mrs. Banner's current condition. Her name is Anna Marie, though she goes by the name Rogue. There was an ad in the newspaper in North Salem stating that a group of doctors were working with the CDC were searching for a cure and if there was any Mutants who would volunteer DNA samples they could help with the cure." Director Fury explained as Bruce walked over to the table.

"You think they were the ones who created whatever it was that turned Minnie?" he asked as he looked at a picture of the young girl smiling nervously for the camera.

"I think they're a good place to start."

"Easy, save the cheerleader, save the world. And by world, I of course mean save the world from the Hulk, lest he and Minnie try making out again."

"Tony, I said-" he was cut off by Tony picking up a spray bottle full of water and spraying it directly in his face.

"No." Tony said in a stern voice. Bruce rolled his eyes and shook his head before he picked up a rag and took his glasses off.

"Well saving the cheerleader might not be so easy." Director Fury said.

"What's wrong, don't we know where she is? I can have her located in an hour."

"We know exactly where she is Tony. She signed up with the Registration act." Fury informed them and Tony's face fell.

"Right." he said slowly. "Okay new plan. We get the green guy out here and have him kidnap her." Tony said clapping his hands together with a grin.

"I'm not kidnapping anyone Tony." Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Not even the one person who would have the key to fixing your wife's genes and thus giving you back a life?" he asked and Bruce shook his head.

"No, because I know that Osborn had my father taken out of the mental hospital for a reason. We need his notes, we need the girl, but most of all, we need Hans Fleischer." he said and the three other men thought about that.

"Dr. Banner has a point."

"When Minnie and the rest of the team gets back I'm sure Logan will have a way to contact the girl, they were close." Fury said and the three men nodded.

"So how long are you here for?" Selvig asked and Fury looked at him.

"I'm not here Dr. Selvig." he said easily before he went to the elevator.

"I'm serious," Tony said as Fury walked away. "If we amp up the microwave we might be able to make some real changes here."

"Amp it up by how much Tony?" Erik asked.

"Well enough that the warranty would be invalid." he said and Bruce rolled his eyes at his friend.

* * *

We were flying to New York when Logan came out of the small bathroom looking a little green around the gills; he sat down in the seat across from me and rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "Here," I touched his arm and he looked at me. I held out a water bottle and he took it from me, nodding to me and I looked back at my folder.

"What are you reading?" he asked and I looked back at him before I pulled a copy of it out of my bag and handed it to him.

"His name is Peter Parker. We're going to try to convince him to come back with us because he has information about Norman Osborn that we could use." I said and he looked through the file before looking at me.

"So if this is just a pickup why am I here?" he asked and I looked up at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to bring anyone against their will." he said and I smiled gently.

"I don't expect you to." I informed him. "I brought you alone because A, if you're anything like me, I know you could use a break from the compound, B, my husband is busy, and C, I wanted to see how you work with the team."

"I'm not planning on joining any teams." he replied. "Might have asked me and saved yourself the trouble."

"There is a reason D," Phil said as he moved over to us. He handed me another file and I sighed as I read it. "Seems Osborn is onto little Peter Parker's secret, and there's a possibility we may need to fight for him."

"Luke Cage." I said as I handed the file over. "There's no substance from earth that can hurt him."

"And I'm not entirely from earth." Logan said making me frown and look at Phil.

"That wasn't in your file…" I said and Phil cleared his throat.

"We believe when Minnie and Bruce were in Nadine, Maine another asteroid hit Earth. Osborn and Madame Hydra were able to collect it and that it contained traces of adamantium. They were able to melt it down and create a small dagger, that's what they used to collect his DNA when he turned." Phil explained and I nodded.

"That makes sense." I said softly. A moment later Logan's three claws were extended, I stared at him for a moment before I looked down at the claws. I could see Natasha dig her elbow into Clint's side and they both watched the scene. "I'm guessing they're made of adamantium." I said and he nodded.

"His entire skeleton is covered in it." Phil informed me.

"Then I guess you're our backup plan Logan." I said to him.

"Thanks for the heads up." he said gruffly, not looking too happy about it, and I nodded.

"Yeah we hardly get one of those in this business." I said before turning to Phil. "What'd you tell Heather?"

"The truth." he replied simply. I nodded as I looked back at the file for Peter Parker and Logan looked through the file for Nick Cage.

When we got to New York the current Senator was waiting for us. "Senator Walsh," I said as we walked down the stairs towards her. She smiled as I approached her. "How nice to meet you."

"You must be Simone." she said as she extended her hand. I shook it, leaving my gloves on. "Hello Agent Coulson."

"Senator Walsh." he nodded. "Nice of you to follow through."

"Well it's not like I could turn down Agent Bluefox." she sighed before turning to me. "You have friends in very high places young lady."

"I know." I replied. "Thank you for following through." I said as the rest of the team walked down the stairs.

"You'll be taking my car." she pointed at the large black SUV parked to the side. "I'd have the fellow in the suit drive, he looks like a driver. No offence."

"None taken." Phil said with a nod as she handed me the keys.

"What do you say Phil, you up for driving?" I asked and he nodded. I tossed him the keys and he caught them easily.

"Young lady," she said to me and I looked at her. "Good luck. All of you. If I were you lot, I'd be in and out of here before Norman or his little team catches on that you're here." I nodded and she patted my shoulder before she turned and went back to her car. I went to the car she had lent us and I got into the passenger's seat.

"What's the address?" Phil asked and I looked at him.

"You know what Phil," I said thoughtfully. "Go to Stark Tower. There's something I need to pick up."

"Minnie, you know that's a bad idea." Natasha said quickly.

"You know as well as I do the board has been working alongside Norman and trying to stay on his good side," I said looking at her. "There are things in that building that Norman would kill and probably has killed to get his hands on. Things that we left behind last time around. Now, with Tony gone I'm the only one who has access to the penthouse and to Jarvis, with Jarvis' help I'll be invisible, I know I can do this I just need fifteen minutes." I said as I looked back at them, and then to Phil. "Please." I said softly.

"Stark Industries it is." Phil said as he started the car.

* * *

_**Oh dang, what's going to happen at Stark Industries?! Only I know! Mwahahahaa! =D Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter, like I said, Minnie is getting more involved and becoming more of a SHIELD Agent then she was before. I think the next chapter may start in Amanda's POV, I haven't done that in awhile. Please don't forget to review!** _


	32. Chapter 32

_**Hey ya'll, here's the next chapter, and like I said, it's starting out with Amanda's pov, it's just a little fluffy scene between Amanda and Piotr, because I know some of you like the pairing. I hope you like this chapter, we get to see Spidey, and also, someone asked if it's the new Spider Man or the old one, and I have to say the new one just because I'm not a huge Toby McGuire- Spidey fan. That's just me though, so if you want to imagine him as Toby McGuire, go ahead, but when I'm writing him, I picture the new guy, Andrew Garfield. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. **_

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own Marvel... Darn.** _

* * *

Amanda was getting used to the way life was now. Things changed, she understood that, but never in her life did she think she would ever be in the position she was in today. Living on a secret government base with the people who saved the world from aliens, and were now considered a threat to their country.

Imagine, living in a world where Captain America was considered an American threat. That's probably why Tony took to calling him Captain Canada, and Captain of the Great White North. Needless to say Steve wasn't too thrilled about his new nicknames. Amanda was sitting outside while Kayla, the little girl she now considered to be her sister, was playing with a stuffed toy and a Barbie doll she had.

"May I sit with you?" Amanda smiled at Piotr and nodded as he joined her on the blanket she had laid out on the small area of grass there was.

"Where is your mother?" he asked and Amanda shrugged.

"I don't know, she said something about going to talk to a teammate and being back late." she said as she marked the place in her book with a small fallen leaf. She put the book to the side and looked at Kayla who was making the Barbie dance. "Seems like she's never around anymore." she said with a small sigh.

"She's busy now. She has to run SHIELD and try to defeat the evil that has overtaken our country."

"I know, it just, before that security breech-" Piotr looked away quickly and Amanda took his hand. "Hey, look, she told me what happened, she said it's not your fault." she said as she held his hand between both of hers.

"If I had stayed with her-"

"If you had stayed with her Madame Hydra probably had people ready to take you out." she said as she stroked his hand gently. "I'm glad you weren't hurt."

"But your mother was."

"And my dad is working on a cure." she reminded him. "Piotr, you can't go beating yourself up over this when my mom already forgave you." she said.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked and she frowned in slight confusion.

"For what?" she asked.

"For harming your family." he said and she sighed.

"You didn't harm anyone. The only person I blame is Madame Hydra." she explained. "So, yeah, I guess I forgive you, even though there really isn't anything for me to forgive..." she frowned lightly, and then smiled as he smiled. She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her, she opened her book again and continued to read while Piotr sat there with her, keeping a very watchful eye on Kayla who was now gathering sticks up to try to build a stick house.

* * *

"I don't like this." Natasha was saying when we parked outside of Stark Industries.

"It'll be fine, I'll be in and out of there in no time." I said to them. "I know all of the security codes and I know how to get around things, it'll be okay." I said. She sighed and then handed me a small ear piece.

"Keep this in, we'll be listening." she said and I put it in before I walked up to the door and went inside. No one paid me much attention as I walked through the lobby and to the private elevator. I typed in the code that I knew Rhodey used when he went up and the elevator opened for me. I stepped inside and hit the button for floor 12.

"Jarvis, initiate code 1143129." I ordered.

"Now causing a power surge towards all employee computers and wideo cameras Mrs. Banner. By the way, welcome home."

"Thanks Jarvis," I smiled. "It's good to hear your voice."

"I do hope the children and Dr. Banner are alright." he said and I chuckled.

"They're fine." I said as we got to the 12th floor. "Don't open the doors yet, how many people are on floor 12?"

"Four. Floor 12 has been restricted to only those with top level clearance."

"Do I have top level clearance?"

"According to Mr. Stark you've always had the highest clearance Mrs. Banner."

"Thank you Jarvis." I said before the door opened and I stepped out onto the floor.

"Stupid computer." Dallas was mumbling as he smacked the monitor.

"Come with me, we've only got a few minutes." I said as I walked past him to the door of the lab. He followed after me quickly, scowling lightly as he did.

"Minnie Banner," he said dramatically. "I should have known."

"That's right, when Jarvis starts wrecking havoc on the building it's usually me or Tony." I joked as I used Dallas' ID to get me into the lab.

"Why does that work?" he asked.

"Employee computers and cameras work on a different system." I explained as I held the door open for him.

"I miss you." he said as we walked into the lab.

"I miss you too." I sighed as I looked at the walls.

"What are you looking for?" he asked and I smiled when I saw it. The obnoxious picture of Iron Man Pepper wouldn't stand having in her house.

"The safe." I said as I walked over to it. "In that cabinet there should be a collapsible box, put it together for me please." I said and he went to the cabinet and put the box together while I climbed onto the counter and pulled the painting down. There barely visible was a translucent touch screen. I took off my glove and typed in a code making the wall pop out slightly.

"What's with the gloves?" Dallas asked as I pulled the safe door open. He handed me the box and I put it on the counter. Everything in the safe was in small metal boxes with codes imprinted on top of them. I started lining the box with the metal boxes.

"I can't touch people anymore," I explained shortly. "Madame Hydra has made sure of that by trying to turn me into the next Rogue."

"_Rogue?_ That little mutant girl being honored next month?" he asked and I frowned as I looked at him.

"_Honored?_" I questioned and he nodded.

"Oh yeah." he said. "Her and a bunch of others, they're the best little enforcers of Norman's new law, thus making him throw all of them a nice little party." he said rolling his eyes.

"...Where?" I asked and Dallas shot me a look. "_Here?!_" I asked and then quickly started to fill up the box again.

"Yeah, the board decided with Tony gone the best thing to do would be to work alongside Norman. Technically I'm supposed to be calling his little Goon Squad right now to come arrest you for treason and a whole other mess of things, but the man clearly underestimates both of us."

"Nat did you hear that?" I asked.

"Yeah, I heard." she responded.

"Minnie, hurry up and get out of there, now." Clint ordered and I smiled lightly.

"I didn't realize this was a party line." I joked as I took the lid from Dallas. "Okay, I'm coming." I said as I closed the safe, wiped the touch screen and hung the picture back up.

"What is all that?" Dallas asked.

"Prototypes, and a few other things Norman would kill to get his slimy little hands on." I answered.

"Mrs. Banner, Osborn's Army is on their way. It seems the safe was set to call them when it was opened."

"Jarvis why didn't you warn me?" I asked.

"There's no records of the safe being altered anywhere in my mainframe." he said sounding upset.

"Okay, it's fine." I sighed. "I'll be fine, look, Dallas, I've got to go." I said to him and he nodded.

"I wish I knew you were coming, I have so much stuff to give to you." he sighed.

"You have got to stop shopping for me." I said.

"Never!" he insisted. "And it will be on your plane when you go home, what airport are you leaving from?"

"Laguardia." I said and he nodded.

"Okay, it will be done." he insisted. "I'll take care of everything."

"You know there is one other thing you can do for me." I said with a smile. "Send them in the wrong direction; convince them I'm headed towards Culver University. Make them think I'm looking for Betty Ross." I said and he nodded.

"You got it." he said before he threw his arms around me. I pulled away quickly and looked at him apologetically.

"Don't touch my skin. I don't want to hurt you." I explained before I went to the car. "Let's go." I said as I got into the front seat.

* * *

"This is it." Phil said when we got to the building.

"Clint, I want you on top, if he tries to go up, I want you to stop him, Natasha, same for you on the bottom." I said and the two nodded as they got out of the car. "Logan, you and Phil are going to come with me." I explained.

"What about the box?" he asked and I looked at it.

"It'll come with us too." I said with a shrug as I picked it up. "Which apartment is he in?" I asked

"Apartment 4-A." Phil said.

"Hear that guys, he's on the fourth floor, so keep your attention focused there." I said as I looked at the picture with his apartment circled. "It's the apartment on the 4th floor with the fire escape out the window." I said.

"Got it." Clint said. "Just once I wish these guys would live on the first floor." He sighed in my earpiece and I smirked lightly.

"We're good Minnie." Natasha said.

"We're heading up now." Phil told them before we walked to the building. Luckily a woman saw me holding the box and smiled.

"You must be the new neighbor on floor two." she said as she held the door open.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." I smiled as we walked inside. We went to the elevator and rode it up to the fourth floor before finding the apartment. Logan leaned towards the door, listening, and then he nodded.

"He's home." he said to me and Phil knocked on the door seeing as I was still holding the box. The door opened a moment later to reveal a skinny young man with dark eyes and brown hair swept out of his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked as he looked from Logan to Phil to me.

"Mr. Parker? We'd like to talk to you." Phil spoke up.

"What about...?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well I hear you're a pretty big fan of spiders." I said and he stared at me for a moment, before swinging his fist out. Logan seemed to anticipate that because the next thing I knew as the young man's fist came swinging towards me, Logan caught it in midair, twisted the boys arm behind his back, and shoved him back into the apartment. Peter jumped easily onto the table, looking ready to fight as Logan's claws extended. Phil and I stepped into the apartment closing the door behind us.

"I don't care what you say or do, I'm not signing any registration!" Peter shouted at us.

"Well that's good news for us then." I said and he looked at me suspiciously as I set the box down on his small coffee table and walked over to the men. "Thank you." I said to Logan softly as I touched his leather clad arm. He retracted his claws but kept a stern eye on Peter who looked confused. His eyes flickered to the window and I smiled. "We've got two agents outside, one on the roof, one on the ground; both are ready and waiting for you to make a move." I said and he looked back at me. "Look Peter, we're not working with Osborn."

"We're a special division of government, put together to work alongside people with remarkable abilities and those who haven't got said abilities." Phil explained as I handed my ID to Peter.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention and Logistics Division?" he read. "SHIELD? You guys were blacklisted, taken apart and put on every wanted list Norman could get you onto." he sounded almost impressed. "I thought you disbanded."

"Can't disband an idea." I said and he stepped off of the table.

"What do you want with me? I'm retired."

"I know about what happened to you, and I'm sorry. I know how it feels to not be able to be with the one you love. Even if they're right in front of you."

"How could you possibly know how that feels?" he asked.

"Same as you. Norman Osborn took it from me. Not in the same way, mind you, but the intent was still the same." I explained and he nodded.

"So what, you want me to become a superhero again?" he asked. "You want me to fight this whole fight, is that why you're here?"

"I'm here because you're one of the people who was able to get into Oscorp. You were changed by their doing and I don't think Norman knows that. If he did, there would be armies of spider men running around, wouldn't there?" I asked and he shrugged lightly. "Look, Peter, what I'm asking is for you to join us and lend your expertise on Norman, on the whole thing because I know you've been keeping tabs on them." I explained and he smirked slightly. "Join the fight that we haven't stopped fighting." I said and he thought for a moment.

"Minnie, we have a problem." Natasha said suddenly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Luke Cage just pulled up." she said.

"Nat, get out of sight. You know as well as I do, engaging him won't make a difference."

"I can cause a distraction, give you some time to get out of there." Clint said and I bit my lip thinking about it.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked and a moment later there was an explosion across the street. I went to the window quickly and saw a fire hydrant shooting water into the air. Luke Cage looked at it, startled, and then looked up at the building. Our eyes caught and he ran to the front door. "Christ, I think he saw us." I said into the ear piece.

"Come upstairs." Clint ordered.

"Right, got it." I said as I turned around, Peter was not in sight and Phil and Logan looked at me inquisitively. "Get upstairs." I ordered them. "Now, go!" I said and Phil grabbed the box before going, Logan hesitated and I nodded.

"I'll be fine Logan, go." I ordered him and he followed after Phil. "Peter." I called to him. "He's coming for you, and no matter what weapons you may have, this guy is impervious to everything." I said into the abandoned looking apartment. "So if you decide to do the right thing for yourself and the right thing for Gwen, please, come with us." I said before I left the apartment. I found the stairs and was running up them when someone landed on the railing next to me.

"Come on, my way is quicker." Spider man said as he grabbed me and wrapped his arm around my waist. He shot a string of synthetic web up and it caught something before we shot up. I held onto him tightly, until we reached the last floor.

"Glad to see you made the right choice." I said and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well honestly you sounded a little desperate for information on Norman. Plus I was kind of curious about that box." he admitted and I laughed before he opened a door to the roof where Clint, Phil and Logan were.

"Nice tights." Logan said and Peter scoffed slightly.

"Is he always this friendly?" he asked me and I rolled my eyes.

Hawkeye had shot an arrow with a rope attached to a tree across the street and had tied the rope off on our end.

"Minnie, you go first." Clint ordered and I shook my head.

"No, I want Phil to go first."

"Why Phil?"

"Because last time he was the only one around to do something he got stabbed in the back. Really badly, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm rather fond of Phil, I want Phil to go first." I said and he chuckled.

"I'll take the fire escape Minnie, I've still got the box." he said before he stepped onto the ladder. He went down the fire escape and got into the SUV when the door to the roof opened. Peter stepped forward quickly.

"Now look dude-" he was cut off by Luke punching him hardly across the face. Peter fell to the floor and I heard the sound of Logan's claws extending as Peter got up and scrambled away. I stood there in shock as Hawkeye pulled out another arrow and shot it at Luke.

It shot out a net, wrapping itself around Luke Cage who was knocked back on the ground. He managed to scramble out of it as Spider man shot a synthetic web to the side of the building and jumped over the side, swinging around, and landing in front of me as Luke walked over to me.

"Fancy tricks." Luke said and I could imagine Peter smirking under his mask.

"I can do more than that." he said.

"Hawkeye do one of those arrows have some sort of cover?" I asked and he looked at me. Spider man tried to contain Luke with a blast of his synthetic web, but Luke broke it easily.

"Smoke?" he asked and I nodded. He shot the arrow at Luke's feet and thick smoke came out of the tip, the smoke surrounded us and I pushed Spider man towards Hawkeye, knowing Luke wouldn't be able to tell which way we were going. In doing that, Luke Cage stumbled forward, and grabbed onto the first person he could, which happened to be me.

It happened in a flash, one second I was trying to get Peter out of there, and the next second I felt like I was being pulled into a crushing hold by the Hulk. I gasped, trying to use some of the self defense that Natasha, Clint and Steve had taught me, but the impervious man hardly registered that he was feeling the hits, until I bit down on my glove and pulled it off. I turned, pressing my hand to his neck and instantly felt his energy pulsing through my hand.

The smoke started to clear up, and the first thing I registered seeing was a set of long, sharp, adamantium claws coming right at me. He sliced through Luke easily, his claws clipped me, but the large gush of blood we both expected to see never happened. It was just three scratches on my forearm.

"No time to worry, Peter, web him!" I ordered Spider man who instantly covered the man with the web netting he had used to catch many criminals and attach them to walls until the police found them. We made it back down to the car and Phil hauled ass to Laguardia.

"Well," Peter said suddenly and everyone looked at him. "That wasn't so bad." he grinned and everyone stared at him for a moment before I reached back, extending my hand.

"Welcome to the team." I said as I shook his hand.

* * *

_**Okay I know I'm not great at writing action sequences, but I hope this was okay, and I hope you liked the chapter! Next chapter we get to find out about the box, Luke Cage is confronted by Norman and things get a little tense in the Banner household. Stay tuned!** _

_**P.S. Please don't forget to review!**  
_


	33. Chapter 33

_**Hey ya'll, you may get a little pissed at me for what I've done here, but with all this change, there's bound to be some internal conflict, am I right? Well, I hope you like the chapter, and hey we get to see what's in the box! Yaay Box! **_

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own Marvel...** _

* * *

By the time we got back to Canada it was late in the evening. "I want you to have your arm checked out by the medics." Phil informed me and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine, they just look bad." I said and he looked at Logan.

"Logan, take her to the medic." Phil said to him before turning his attention to Peter.

"Phil, get the box to the lab." I said to him and he nodded. I followed Logan to the medical room where a doctor was checking my stitches.

"How did this happen Director?" she asked and I looked at Logan.

"We had a little accident." I said and she nodded.

"Well it should be fine, I'll just wrap it up, and tomorrow come back and I'll check it again to make sure that everything looks okay." she said decidedly as she wrapped my arm.

"Thank you." I smiled to her. After she wrapped my arm Logan walked me back to my house.

"You did real good today." he said to me and I looked up at him.

"You think so?" I asked.

"You figured out how to use yourself to your advantage." he said. "I uh, I'm sorry." he said the words sounded kind of odd coming from his usually gruff demeanor.

"Logan, it was an accident. I'm fine." I said and he nodded as we got to my house. "I'll see you tomorrow, we're going to need to talk to Peter about... Everything." I shrugged with a small laugh. He nodded before he turned and walked away.

"Night." he called back.

"Good night." I said and I opened the door to the house. It was dark. I went straight to the girls' bedroom where I saw a light under the door. I knocked lightly on the door and pushed it open. Amanda was reading a book, a pressed leaf next to it; she quickly put the leaf down in the book and jumped up before throwing her arms around me.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she touched my bandaged up arm.

"I'm fine honey, I'm fine." I said with a smile. "It's just a scratch."

"Dad was really worried about you." she said softly and I stroked her hair with my glove clad hand.

"Everything is okay." I said gently.

"Where did you go?"

"On a mission, that's all you need to know right now." I said. "I just came to check in on you, get some sleep." I said and she nodded before climbing back onto the bed. I went to Kayla's bed and smoothed the hair from her face and pulled her blanket up before I walked out of the room, I went to our bedroom and changed into a long sleeved shirt and a pair of yoga pants before climbing into bed next to Bruce.

He was fast asleep and I didn't want to bother him. I rolled over on my side, facing away from him and felt myself starting to fall asleep. I took my gloves off and laid them on my bedside table before drifting off to sleep. When I woke up Bruce had rolled over and wrapped his arms around me, Fear flashed into my mind first, I had no idea how long he had been holding me, if he had touched my skin by accident, what had happened. I turned over quickly and sat up, he groaned softly and I cupped his face. "Bruce?" I asked as I lightly shook him. "Bruce, wake up."

"What?" he asked as he opened his eyes. "What's wrong?" he sat up and I let out a small sigh.

"Oh god honey." I ran a hand over my face. "We've got to be more careful." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.

"What are we talking about?" he groaned as he ran his hands over his face, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, and then cracking his neck.

"I think I should sleep with gloves on." I said softly and he groaned softly. "Or on the couch or something…"

"Minnie, don't start that again." he sighed as I stood up. I grabbed some clothes and he looked out from under his hand at me. "What's up?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Nothing, I have a lot of work today." I said as I pulled my shirt off.

"What's that?" he asked and I looked down at myself. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I just- I got a cut." I said softly. He got out of the bed and walked over to me.

"Let me see." he said as he reached for my arm.

"No honey, I'm fine." I said softly as I pulled away.

"Minnie, you can't hurt me." he said as he tried to come closer.

"Bruce, just drop it." I said as I pulled away. "I'm fine."

"There's something that you're not telling me." he insisted and I shook my head as I moved to the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and unwrapped the bandage and ran my thumb over the slices in my arm. The last thing anyone needed was Bruce seeing them, overacting and hulking out. I finished my shower, brushed my hair into a bun and put on my daily moisturizer and eye creme before doing my regular makeup and brushing my teeth. I got dressed and pulled on my shoes before I walked out of the room to the dresser where I kept my gloves. I put them on and walked out to the kitchen where Kayla was shoving eggs into her mouth. She smiled when I walked into the kitchen as Bruce tried to show Amanda how to make a soft center egg.

"See now, the trick," he was saying as he sprayed down the spatula with a nonstick spray. "Is making sure the spatula doesn't stick." he pointed at her and she laughed. "What to try?"

"Yeah." she took it from him and stepped in front of the pan.

"Okay, do that one." he pointed to one and I smiled as I poured a cup of coffee. "Ah, that was a good try, the trick is to try and _not _break the yolk."

"It's okay, I'll just give that one to you." she said looking at him and he laughed.

"I see how it is, you little traitor." he said before the toaster popped, he moved over to the toaster and pulled the hot toast out.

"Mommy can I have peanut butter on my toast?" Kayla asked and Bruce and Amanda looked at me, not realizing I was in the kitchen.

"Of course honey." I said going to a cabinet. I opened it and found myself staring at the dishes.

"It's that one!" she giggled pointing at a different cabinet.

"We moved some stuff around." Amanda said as she handed me the peanut butter.

"Right." I said softly. I was putting peanut butter on the toast when there was a knock on the door.

"I've got it." Bruce said as he moved around me, kissing my cheek gently as he went to the door.

"Good morning Bruce," Thor said happily. "I have brought the boxes left for your family on the jet."

"Oh, Thor, you didn't have to bring those in!" I said with a smile as Thor wheeled a dolly into the living room.

"I saw them being unloaded from the jet and I thought I had not seen you in some time." he said with a smile.

"Mommy, that box has my name on it!" Kayla said excitedly.

"It sure does." I said and she looked at me with wide eyes. "Go see." I smiled and she jumped up, running to the box with a smile. I saw that SHIELD had opened the boxes, probably to make sure no one tried to off us while we were in the air and Thor pulled a letter from his pocket.

"This comes from the white haired one named Dallas." Thor said handing it to Bruce who took it slowly and then looked at me.

"Dallas?" he asked with a frown.

"Yeah. Dallas. You know, flamboyant gay boy, calls you Love-Bug." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, what happened yesterday?" he asked.

"We went to pick up an perspective agent, and while we were there I decided to apprehend a few things from Stark Tower that I know were in danger of Norman Osborn getting a hold of." I said nonchalantly as I sipped my coffee.

"You went to New York!?" he asked in horror. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?! Minnie, you could have been..." he trailed off slowly as I sipped my coffee. "Do you even care?"

"Of course I care." I said softly. "But I'm _fine_." I smiled. "Everything went fine, we got the operative, he's on our side now and we expect to get some good information about Norman Osborn." I said.

"To Hell with Osborn!" he said as he walked over to me. "_You said_ you were just going to talk to an agent, to just get some information." he said as he looked into my eyes. "You lied to me."

"I couldn't tell you before," I said softly. "I'm sorry, I would have told you, you know that but-"

"No I don't know that." he said suddenly. "Ever since we got here it's been all about SHIELD, all about protecting this image of this agency, it doesn't even feel like we're on the same team anymore." he said and I frowned.

"Bruce," I reached forward and lightly touched his arm. He didn't look at me, he just looked down.

"How much time have you spent training in the past month?" he asked and I looked at him in surprise.

"Well I- I don't know." I stuttered.

"A couple of hours a day, every day." he said, and then looked at me. "How much time have you spent with your daughters in the past month?" he asked and I stared at him silently. "A couple of hours a week. Tops." he said, and I stared at him. "I don't even know how much time _we've_ spent together. A few minutes here and there when you're coming down to the lab for blood testing, or the usual quick hello goodbye routine every morning." he said and I started to move away. "Don't you go." he said as he caught my arm, right on my cuts. I gasped and he looked down at my arm before rolling my sleeve up.

"Bruce, don't." I said as I tried to pull away. He caught my wrist and held my arm there, rolling my sleeve up to expose the cuts in my arm.

"Jesus Christ." he whispered as he ran his thumb over them. "What happened?"

"You want the truth?" I asked and he looked at me. "Luke Cage came to pick up the Spider-Man, the guy we were picking up. He grabbed me in the struggle and wouldn't let go so I took his power, and I was nicked when Logan was able to break the unbreakable man." I said as I yanked my arm back. "You're freaking out about me not telling you everything, well here it is, yeah, I work for SHIELD, and yeah, I went back to the states even though I knew the danger of it because I thought that I'd have a chance to get one step closer to the bastard that put us here." I said to him. "So excuse me if I'm trying to make things right for us!"

"Things were _fine_!" he protested. "Sure, we're not in some New York apartment on the upper west side, but we're together."

"We can't _be_ together!" I shouted at him. "Don't you understand, they made sure of that! I can't hug my daughters without running the risk of hurting them, I can't hug or kiss or even sleep next to you without worrying about bringing out the Other Guy!" I said my chest rising and falling as my heart rate increased. "I can't be with anyone without hurting them!" I shouted at him, and he stared at me. I looked around the living room, noticing that Amanda, Kayla and Thor had gone. I sighed as I tried to move around him. He caught both of my arms but I didn't look up.

"You stayed with me after finding out about the other guy," he said softly. "We were able to figure that out, we'll be able to figure this out," he said and reached up to tilt my face so I would look at him. "You can't give up now." he said and I looked at him for a long moment. "Minnie," he said as I started to look away, drawing my attention to him again. He leaned down and caught my lips with his. I started to pull away, but he moved his hand to the back of my head, holding me there until he pulled away. His eyes were green and he took a few deep breaths, but he didn't let go of me. "Don't go." he said his voice sounding like a mix of his and the Hulk's. I stood there for a minute, letting him get control again before he slowly let go of me.

"You can't even kiss me without nearly turning into him." I said and he shook his head.

"No I can't." he said and I swallowed as I tried not to think about what I could do to them. "And I'm okay with that." he said as he cupped my face.

"Bruce, don't." I whispered.

"I'm okay with it because I know how to handle it." He said as he looked down at me. A mixture of betrayal and hurt crossed his eyes when I didn't say anything

I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how to respond, but luckily at that moment a pair of arms wrapped around me from the side. "You're the best!" Tony said as he lifted me up.

"Tony!" I shrieked as he carried me out of the house.

"Tony, you're going to make all the blood rush to her face!" Steve protested from behind the insane genius.

"Don't care, I'm off to do science!" he said as he carried me away.

* * *

"So things were looking pretty tense with you and Brucie back there." Tony said as a SHIELD doctor drew blood from my arm.

"Did they?" I asked as the doctor finished and handed the vials to Tony.

"Thanks man." he said clapping the doctor on the shoulder.

"Director, would you like me to look at those cuts?" the doctor asked and I rolled my eyes.

"They're fine." I sighed as Logan walked into the room.

"I can have someone for you to talk to..." the doctor said hesitantly. Logan rolled his eyes and walked over, he picked up one of my hands and pulled the glove off before putting my bare hand on his forearm.

"Logan don't-" I said quickly, but as I felt myself absorbing his energy I could see the cuts heal quickly. Tony and the doctor both stared at us in shock and Logan let go of my hand.

"Rogue takes the power from other mutants, she borrows it, when she touches them."

"So when I touched Luke Cage, that's why you didn't slice my arm off." I said slowly and he nodded.

"And you didn't tell us this earlier because?" Tony asked and Logan looked at him before he shrugged.

"I thought she would figure it out herself." he shrugged.

"Well with all that making out with the Hulk she's been doing it's no wonder she hasn't gotten all big and green on us yet." Tony mumbled as he picked up a pen.

"Can that happen?" I asked looking at Logan with wide eyes.

"I don't know, he's a mutate, not a mutant." he shrugged.

"So this would recognize the diff-_erence_!" I yelped the end of the word as Tony jabbed me with his favorite shock pen. "Ow!" I said as I hit his shoulder.

"No hitting!" he said and I kicked him. "Ow, okay that was fair." he nodded.

"No shocking or I'll put you on bathroom detail!" I said as I rubbed the place where he had shocked me.

"So what is this stuff?" Logan asked as he picked up a small metal box.

"Oh, this." Tony walked over to it. He pressed his thumb into the scanner and the long narrow box opened. "It's a prototype for Bruce's EpiPen." he winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Tony, what's this I hear about you kidnapping Minnie while she was in a serious discussion with her husband?" Pepper stepped out of the elevator. "Hey Minnie." she smiled and I grinned.

"Hey Pep." I said and she looked at the box.

"Weren't those in the lab safe?" she asked and he nodded to me.

"Minnie went on a little trip to New York yesterday, picked up the guy that's loitering on the ceiling." Tony said and we looked up to see Peter stuck to the ceiling.

"Hey." he grinned and I rolled my eyes with a small smile. "Like I said," he said to me as a string of web lowered him down. "I was curious."

"You know I'm a little curious as to where you got the clothes, Barton, I know you're up there too!" I called and a moment later a rope fell down from the rafters, Clint came sliding down it with a grin and Logan looked at the ceiling.

"Who else is up there?" he asked and I smiled.

"Mrs. Stark, it's nice to meet you." Peter said as he shook Pepper's hand.

"What is that?" I asked Tony as he opened a box. Sitting inside of it was a shiny black looking hunk of stone.

"It's what caused those cuts in your arm, and the reason Kitten over there has got claws." he said as he pulled it out of the box and handed it to me.

"Adamantium?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Actually no, adamantium has to be made, this is one of the ingredients to making it, this is what keeps me alive," he said as he reached under his shirt and popped out his Arc Reactor. "This is vibranium." he said and I looked at him like he was nuts.

"Will you put that back?" I asked as I lightly swatted his shoulder. "I don't want to peel your dead body off the floor." I sighed and he smiled before ruffling my hair.

"It's the same stuff the Cap's shield is made of too. I found the old blueprints my father had written up, which are here actually," he pulled the notebook out of the box and smiled at me. "Based on what you two told me, I'd say Mr. Impervious has met his match."

"Leona has an adamantium weapon as well," I said and he looked at me curiously. "She used it to cut Bruce when we were in Nadine."

"That's right." Tony nodded. "I remember." he thought for a moment before he turned to Barton. "Legolas, let me see an arrow."

"Why?" Clint asked.

"Just give me one, I don't care what it does so long as it does something cool." he said and Clint handed an arrow over to Tony who compared the size of the rock to the arrowhead. "Okay, here you go." he handed it back and pulled out a notepad. He started to sketch a few ideas before looking at me. "I think I should start with your problem." he said thoughtfully. "I don't think Bruce's solution will work for you, because it's centered around that area of his brain, but maybe..." he said as he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "What I wouldn't give to have Jarvis he-" he stopped mid word and then dug around in the box for a second before pulling a box out and looking at it with wide eyes like a kid on Christmas. "Minnie, consider yourself promoted." he said with a grin. I laughed lightly as he opened the box.

* * *

"I thought you were indestructible." Norman said to Luke Cage who was currently in a hospital bed with internal bleeding.

"It's not like I planned for this to happen." he said weakly.

"Minnie used herself against you, she knew to do that?"

"Well it's not like it's that hard to figure out. I think worst comes to worst she was just hoping that I'd feel weak and let go."

"What the hell are they sending her on missions for anyways? I thought Leona would have taken her out by now." he grumbled. "What kind of knives did they use on you again?"

"I don't know. All I know is, they're about to use a laser to get me back open. This is not going to be fun." Luke said as he looked at the nurse who just walked in nervously.

When Norman got back to his office he sat at his desk for awhile, trying to consider what to do, until his eyes landed on a file on his desk. He picked it up and looked at it before he smiled and picked up his phone. "General?" he asked into the phone. "How ready can you have Agent Blonsky out of his cage and ready to move? A week? Perfect." he said before hanging up the phone.

Let them see how much their information meant when faced with a real problem.

* * *

**_Okay, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have an idea for what to look out for next! Please review!_ **


	34. Chapter 34

_**Hey ya'll, this one is a little shorter, but I think you'll like where it's going. We've got some more action. Like I said before I'm kind of new at writing action sequences, so bare with me on this okay? Enjoy the chapter!** _

* * *

"Director Banner, I think something can be arranged." Agent Hayes said to me as I finished running my new idea by her. It had been a very tense couple of days, ones that were spent with virtually wordless mornings, and the same at nights. I had finally come up with a plan to make things better, because to be honest, it was killing me.

"Phil has agreed to everything, so all that really needs to be done is enforcement." I said and she nodded

"Don't forget damage control." she said and I looked at her as she smiled softly.

"That's very true Agent Hayes." I said and I sighed.

"Director Banner," she said softly and I looked over at her. "If you don't mind me saying," she used her electronic cane to tell where the edge of the table was. "Perhaps there's no better time than the present?" she asked and I smiled before I nodded. "I'm going to assume you're nodding right now." she said and I chuckled.

"You assume correctly." I said. "I'll let Phil know on my way out."

"Minnie, thank god you're here." Tony said as I walked to the house. "I need you to sign off on this."

"What is it?" I asked as I took the paper from him. "You want to bring in another scientist?" I asked and looked at him.

"Well I mean, I could outsource, there's a lab in Alaska, not too far from here, also, one of the states who hasn't got a chapter of the new age Hitler Youth, it would be easy."

"You have two scientists that you know personally, and there are three more down there."

"They're astrophysicists, not the kind of science I'm looking at, though they do know how to have a good conversation, they're not what I'm looking for."

"What are you looking for?"

"I want a cellular biologist." he said and I sighed before I took the paper and signed it.

"Don't make me regret this Tony." I said and he smiled.

"Come on, you're Minnie Banner, you don't regret anything."

"You know I'm kind of starting to regret it now." I said as he walked away.

* * *

"Uh... Mom?" Amanda asked when she and Kayla and Bruce walked through the door to the house and saw me in the kitchen.

"Yeah honey?" I asked and looked at her from where I was pulling down a bag of flour.

"Are you... Feeling okay?" she asked.

"Of course, why?" I asked and she shrugged as she casually walked towards the kitchen.

"Well you're...Here." she shrugged and I instantly was hit with a wave of guilt. I looked down and she instantly rushed over to me. "I didn't mean it like that, I just mean, you've been working so much, and things have been kind of-"

"I know what you meant." I said as I looked at her. "But I promise I won't disappear like that again."

"You don't have to work anymore?" Kayla asked from where she was in Bruce's arms.

"No Sweetie, I still have to work," I said and her face fell. "But I will be off of work before you go to bed every night now, so I'll be able to spend more time with you." I tried to smile and she grinned.

"Every night!?" she asked and I nodded.

"Every night." I said and she wiggled out of Bruce's arms, he set her down and she ran over to me and threw her arms around my knees.

"How'd you manage that?" Bruce asked and I looked at him.

"It's surprising the amount of leeway they give you when you remind them who you're married to." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"Well at least the other guy's good for something." he muttered and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah little things like that." I shrugged and he smiled lightly. "So, who wants pancakes?" I asked and the girls both grinned as I pulled a bowl out of a cupboard- I had made sure to look through every cupboard when I first got home- and I set it down.

That night after dinner and when I had gotten the girl to bed I walked out to the living room where Bruce was writing in a notebook. I sat down on the couch next to him and looked at the paper where he was working on a very long scientific looking equation I had no hope of ever hoping to understand.

"Girls asleep?" he asked a moment later and I nodded.

"Well, Amanda wants to finish her book, but Kayla's sleeping." I said and he nodded as he continued to write. It was silent in the living room, he worked on whatever it was he was working on and I sat there on the couch. "I know it's going to take more for us and everything to get back to the way we used to be," I said softly and he looked up at me. "But I'm trying."

"I know," he replied, and gave me a small smile.

* * *

"Phil," I said and he looked up from a computer screen at me. It had been about a week since I had started the new rule of after I went to the house, unless it was an emergency, Phil was in charge, and so far the kids loved it, while Bruce and I were still working on some issues, we were doing better.

"Hey, you heading out?" he asked and I nodded.

"Unless there's anything that warrants my immediate attention?"

"Nothing comes to mind right-" he was cut off by the fact that the entire building started to shake. I was thrown to the floor when it did, as did he. We both moved to the doorway and he grabbed onto me, bracing us both, I held onto him, eyes wide as he held us there. "Are you okay?" he asked when it ended and I nodded before a loud siren went off.

"Sir," someone stumbled down the hall. "Director, thank god you're still here." he said as Phil helped me up.

"What is going on?" I asked and he looked at me before looking over his shoulder.

"There's something you should see Ma'am." he said as he walked down the hallways. I looked at Phil before I followed after him, Phil right on my heels. We went to one of the security rooms where two agents watched the camera monitors we had set up around the compound, the one that they were pointing at showed a very large creature. "It's coming right at us ma'am."

"How far away?" I asked and they shrugged.

"Not too far."

"I want a few agents in a helicopter; find out what the hell that is." I said and they nodded before calling up to the hangar. "Send an agent to my house; have them bring my girls to the panic room." I demanded and the other agent picked up the phone. "Phil, get in touch with the big guy."

"Are things so tough between you that you can't call your husband yourself?" Phil asked with a small smirk and I shot him a look.

"The Other big guy." I said and he nodded, knowing who I meant.

"Minnie, there you are!" I was surprised when Peter came running over to me, two agents chasing along behind him.

"Stand down, he's okay, I want people on the perimeter, go." I ordered and they nodded before going to collect some others and go to the fence. "What is it?"

"Remember when I told you Norman was having a lot of meetings with people like Luke Cage, and others like that?" he asked and I nodded as he opened the folder he was holding. "This picture got stuck on the back of another picture, so I forgot about it, but I was trying to get information together out of the files I managed to snag and your daughter pointed it out to me." he handed it to me and I looked at the picture before I gestured for him to walk with me.

"Phil, we're going to the lab!" I called to him. Peter and I went downstairs where Tony, Bruce and Dr. Selvig were looking startled and trying to keep their experiments from toppling over.

"Are we being bombed? Is Cap having crazy flashbacks? What's going on?" Tony asked as I walked over to Bruce and handed him the picture.

"What is this?" he asked looking at me.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Depends. Do you think its General Ross, because if you do, then yeah, it is." he replied and I nodded before looking at Tony.

"There's a SHIELD file stating after the Harlem incident you were sent to General Ross to recruit a new agent and that you were unsuccessful." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah because _Agent_ up there made it clear that we didn't want him." he defended himself.

"So it wasn't Bruce." I stated and he shook his head. "It wasn't the Hulk?" I clarified and he shook his head, a look of realization crossing his face before I turned to my husband.

"Bruce, how quickly can you get angry?" I asked softly and Peter looked at me curiously.

"What are we against here?" he asked as Tony started ushering us to the elevator.

"Dr. Selvig, you should get to the safe room." he said and Selvig nodded.

"Keep an eye on the girls for me." I said and he nodded again.

"Of course Minnie, good luck." he said to Bruce, Tony and Peter who nodded.

"Can someone please tell me why Mrs. Director of SHIELD who doesn't like issues is asking the Hulk to come out and play?" Peter asked.

"Aside from the fact that those two are cool?" Tony asked and Peter looked at me curiously.

"I am married to the man; it would be a little dangerous if the other guy didn't like me very much." I shrugged and he nodded.

"Director Banner," Agent Sitwell said as soon as the doors opened at the armory. "Agent Coulson sent me to tell you," he panted, out of breath. "It's the Abomination."

"Yeah..." I said softly before clearing my throat. "Jarvis," I called, Tony had since installed Jarvis into the mainframe for his own amusement, though I liked having him in the computers, knowing no one who wanted in could get in anymore. "Bring up video of the Harlem incident." A wall suddenly had video of the Hulk and the Abomination fighting, before cutting off.

"So he's the big, tan, scarier Hulk who destroyed Harlem..." Peter said looking a little nervous but like he was trying to cover up his nervousness with confidence.

"If I were you Parker, I'd be suiting up right now." I said and he stared at me for a long moment before he turned and ran to his room. Tony was already halfway in his suit, I was calling orders to people when Thor and Steve Rogers came in, Hawkeye had gone to the perimeter to try to slow down the Abomination, and Black Widow had gone in the helicopter to confirm. What surprised me was when Logan showed up as well, looking ready.

"What can I do?" he asked and Steve looked at him for a moment.

"You got a suit?" he asked and Logan looked at him. "Because if you do, you should suit up. Dr. Banner-"

"Give me a minute Cap." he said before he turned to me. "The girls are in the safe room?"

"Yeah, Dr. Selvig went down there too, and I'm sure Pepper's down there as well."

"You should get down there." he said softly and I smiled lightly before shaking my head.

"You know I can't." I said gently.

"Minnie, live feed." Natasha said in my ear before the video screen lit up again and showed the Abomination.

"Bruce," I said softly. "How did you stop him last time?"

"I got lucky." he said and I looked at him. He was taking his watch off and looking none too happy as he handed it to me. He looked at the screen again and sighed.

"Minnie, he's at the perimeter." Hawkeye said in my earpiece.

"He's not doing anything." I said as he stopped in front of the fence, the SHIELD team were out there, Hawkeye had taken the lead, the helicopter was buzzing near, but not within grabbing distance to the creature as he looked down at everyone, we were all quiet, the Avengers stood, watching, the Abomination stood there staring down at the lead team.

It was a tense, quiet moment before I looked at Bruce who was watching too. He looked at me and nodded. "Engage the target." I said and Hawkeye sent an arrow shooting straight at the Abomination. It hit him in the stomach before exploding.

The creature let out a deep roar before taking a swipe at the archer who managed to jump out of the way at the right time. Shooters started firing their guns at him while the huge tan, scarier hulk let out what sounded like a rumbling laugh.

"Is that the best you've got?" he growled before stomping on two of my gunmen.

"Guys..." I said hesitantly as I looked back at the Avengers.

"We're on it." Steve said before they ran outside, Spiderman was running back from his room, having changed into his uniform, and met the Avengers out there as they went to meet the beast at the perimeter.

* * *

_**Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I hope you like it! Please don't forget to review!** _


	35. Chapter 35

_**Hey ya'll, here's the big chapter, the action sequence. I hope I did it okay, it took me awhile to figure out how I wanted it to go. Let me know what you think, there will be some more action in later chapters. Also, make sure you read the bottom part to see a teaser for what happens next! **_

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own Marvel... Darn.** _

* * *

When Bruce turned into the Hulk he looked at me and I stared at him for a moment before he reached forward and lightly touched my hair. "Minnie be safe." he said and I smiled as I touched my gloved hand to his.

"I will big guy." I said and he nodded, looking like he wanted to say something.

"Bruce not mad..." he paused, and seemed to be looking for the right words.

"Disappointed?" I offered and he shook his large green head.

"Scared." he settled on. I sighed and nodded before Tony came shooting into the hangar.

"Come on big guy, we need you." he said before shooting back out the door.

"Stay safe." Hulk said to me and I nodded as he turned and walked to the door.

"You too!" I called to him, he looked over his shoulder and gave me a wide, almost roguish grin making me smile before he ran outside and roared loudly, catching the attention of the Abomination.

"Finally." the Abomination growled as he walked towards the Hulk. I looked at Coulson who was staring at the two with a look of fear, something I had never seen on Coulson's face before.

"I really wish we had kept some of that Stage 2 stuff." he muttered and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Minnie, who's idea was it to let Goldie-Claws and the Swinging high schooner into the game?" Tony asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Tony you need all the help you can get with this guy." I said and he scoffed as he shot his repulsar at the Abomination, hitting him square in the shoulder. The large creature looked at him, before he effectively swatted him right out of the sky the way a person would with a fly. Tony landed on the ground hardly and I heard him groan in my earpiece.

"Point taken." he said as he got up.

"Hey Tony, here's an idea, don't do that again." I offered and he sent a mock salute my way.

"Well it might be easier if we had someone to suck the energy out of him..." Tony paused before turning to me.

"Tony, no, we are not putting her in danger!" I heard Steve said and Tony sighed.

"You're our backup." Tony said decidedly.

"This thing isn't completely untouchable." Wolverine said from where he was. "I just slit its shin thanks to Thor, it cuts, it's tough, but it does cut." he said and I thought of something.

"Katniss do you think you could get a bead on him from the right angle?" I heard Tony ask.

"For once in my life I think I prefer Legolas." Clint said decidedly and I smiled lightly. "But yeah, if you get me in position I could stick an arrow in him, not that it would do much, why?"

"Minnie, in the lab, the second locker, there's a nice surprise, go get it." Tony ordered and I turned and ran downstairs, people jumped out of my way as I ran down the three flights of stairs and went to the lab where I found the locker. "You there?"

"I'm here Tony." I said as I opened the locker. "Uh, Tony..."

"Yeah, I know, some assembly required, it'll twist on, don't worry." he said and I sighed as I twisted the tip of the sleek arrow onto the rest of it. I ran up the stairs, ignoring people I passed again, this time making it to the hangar where I realized much of the fight had moved away from the buildings, and more towards the open land, which was good, but at the sight of the Abomination digging a huge spiked elbow into the Hulk's neck, I felt my heart start racing.

"Get John Liu up here." I ordered Phil who nodded and made the call. A few minutes later he was there, looking curiously at the monitor displaying what was happening. "You ready to put this to some good?" I asked and he looked at me for a long moment before he nodded.

"Anything to help Director." he said and I nodded.

"That's what I like to hear." I said. "Tony, it looks like you guys could use a little help." I said into my earpiece. Phil was getting one for John.

Thor was in the process of smashing the Abomination in the face; he stumbled before he tore a tree from the ground and tried to smash at the Norse god who moved out of the way in time.

"Nah, we're fine." Tony said casually and I rolled my eyes.

"Bullets don't work on it, your repular technology doesn't work, we know adamantium works; basically I think we just need a little help getting him to slow down."

"That's what your husband's for, distracting him so we can get the clear shot." Steve said in my earpiece.

"Not if he's being ripped up like that." I said as the Hulk stood up from the hole the Abomination had created by throwing him into the ground hardly. "I can do this. Please." I said and there was silence on the other end.

"She's right." Natasha said finally. "She can do this."

"And I have John Liu here with me, he can help." I offered as Tony flew over to us.

"Oh good you got Legolas' package, let's go." Tony said. He grabbed me by one hand and John by the other before bringing us over to where the Avengers were, Thor was distracting the Abomination with Natasha while Steve was going over a plan with Clint.

"Best bet is for you to touch either his face or his neck." Logan said to me. "But anywhere will work."

"When I did it to Luke, I was touching his neck." I said and he nodded.

"They'll weaken him, I'll set up a trip rope between those trees, Barton will his him with the arrow," Spiderman was pointing to two trees. "Big tan and nasty goes down, Thor uses the hammer to make sure the arrow does the job and we go home tonight." Peter said and I nodded, though I could feel myself shaking. Clint walked over and took the arrow from me before putting his hand on my shoulder.

"You'll do great." he said and I nodded as I started to pull my jacket off. I threw it on the ground and then pulled off my gloves, I shivered, standing there in only a tank top, but I figured the more skin I exposed, the more energy I'd be able to take from 'big, tan and nasty' as Peter called him.

"We're going to need a lift." John pointed out as he took his gloves and jacket off.

"I'll get you guys there." Tony said and I shook my head.

"No, one at a time doesn't work, we both need to get up there at the same time, otherwise he'll have time to throw one off and then the other." I said before I looked at the Hulk who was standing there, panting, and watching our little pow wow. "Honey," I stepped towards him. "I need you to help." He instantly shook his head and I sighed.

"Hulk keep Minnie safe... Hulk not like-"

"I don't like it either but what choice do we have?" I asked softly and he stared down at me. "I'll be fine, I know I will." I said and he let out a sigh as he looked away, and then looked at me. For a moment his eyes had turned deep brown, and he looked like he was going to turn back to Bruce again, but the green quickly overtook his eyes again, before he nodded.

"Hulk help." he said decidedly. I nodded and he looked at Tony who nodded.

"Good choice Big Guy." he said before looking to John. "Come on. We've only got one shot at this, so let's make it count."

"Hulk, when Tony lets go of John, you get Minnie onto the Abomination." Steve said and Hulk nodded before looking down at me.

"Thank you." I said softly to him before Peter went to do his part, Wolverine went to distract the Abomination and Clint was getting into position. Tony took John by the arms and flew into the air with him, while the Hulk bent down, lacing his fingers together. I stepped into his hands and turned to look at him quickly.

"Hulk keep you safe." he said and I smiled before I leaned in and lightly kissed his cheek.

"I know you will big guy." I said softly before I turned around and braced myself against his arms. When Tony gave the signal he was dropping John onto the Abomination Hulk, with all his might threw me at the Abomination. I only had one shot and I needed to make it count.

My name is Minnie Banner, and I am going to die. At least, to anyone who saw the scene, it would certainly look like that. But to them I only have one thing to say. "Not today." I heard myself mutter as I clung desperately to the Abomination's elbow. The exposed bone that he used to dig into the Hulk's chest was right at my chest level and as I hooked my leg onto his arm I could feel him swinging his elbow, I quickly dropped down, so I slid down his forearm to his wrist. He looked down at me and I up at him as I clung to his thick, scaly skin before he lifted his arm up over his head, making me shriek and cling to his arm, before realizing I had the perfect opportunity.

With the two of us on him, touching him, and bringing out his energy I knew it wasn't going to be long before he would feel the effects. I dropped from the Abomination's arm, right onto his shoulder before he brought his arm down; swinging it into the ground with such a force I'd probably be dead if he managed to crush me. I dug my fingers into his skin and held myself there before I managed to put one hand against his neck. The Abomination swung around, trying to rid himself of myself and John, but only succeeded in making himself dizzy.

Dizzier than he was with his energy being drained. He roared out in frustration before Thor came swinging his hammer into the Abomination. He roared again, and swung an SUV sized fist at Thor before using his hand to grab me and pull me off his shoulder.

"Shit!" I shrieked as I clung to him, I could hear the Hulk roar, and I could hear people shouting in my earpiece.

"I can't get a shot, Minnie's in the way!" Clint's voice was the only clear one.

"Take the shot!" I shouted as the Abomination started to squeeze me. I could feel my body starting to crush under his force as he laughed.

"So Pathetic." he said in that disturbingly creepy voice of his.

"Still enough to knock you out." I said, thankful he was touching my skin.

"We'll see." he said deeply before he started to squeeze me tighter. I looked over his shoulder to see John on the ground; he must had taken the hit when the Abomination started to move sharply, trying to get us off. I looked over my shoulder as I felt some of my ribs starting to crack, Clint was behind us, aiming right for the Abomination.

"Take the shot!" I said to him and he shook his head.

"Negative Minnie, you're in the way." the Abomination gave me another squeeze, knocking the air from my lungs. I let out a gasp and another groan before I shook my head.

"I think he's dislocating my ribs, take the shot, don't sorry about me!" I said.

"I've got one shot, and I can't make it from here." Barton said and a moment later Tony had grabbed Barton by the waist and was flying him in the air. The Abomination turned with me still in his hand to look at the two, squeezing the air from my lungs once more as he did, clenching his fists I could feel my ribs cracking, he didn't let up on his grip making it impossible for me to take a breath when Barton finally did as he was told and took the shot. Barton being Barton, hit him right in the heart.

Draining the Abomination of his energy must have had an effect because the next thing I knew he was stumbling back, his grip still as good as ever, however he didn't fall like Spiderman had predicted.

"I've got this if you think you can get Minnie." Clint said decidedly as he shot another arrow into the Abomination, this time at the hip. It had a rope attached to it which Clint used to swing around the legs of the Abomination, Spiderman, getting Clint's intention did the same thing and shot a string of web to the creature and swinging around him in the other direction while Tony hovered next to me at the Abomination's fist.

"Cover your face." he ordered and I looked away before he blasted the Abomination's hand. He let go of me and I felt myself falling before Tony caught me.

The final punch however, had been delivered by the Hulk, who punched the Abomination right where the Arrow had sunk into his skin, therefore driving the arrow all the way into the bastard creature's body. The entire ground shook as the Abomination fell and everyone panted. I was lowered to the ground slowly, Tony lowered me into Steve Rogers' arms who set me on the ground and brushed my sweaty red hair from my face.

"We did it Minnie." he said and I gave him a small smile, not quite trusting myself to speak.

"I think-" I gasped as I held my side. "He broke my ribs." I wheezed, but as I spoke I could feel myself starting to heal. "Oh just give me a minute." I groaned, it's a strange feeling, when your ribs are repairing themselves right inside of you at a rate that you're aware of. I don't really know how to describe it.

"Is he dead?" Logan asked.

"I think so." Natasha nodded.

"We won." Steve said and I smiled.

"Well done guys, I knew you could do it." I said before a large green shape appeared in my vision.

"Hurt?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No, I'm okay." I said and he offered a hand which I hesitated to take.

"Minnie can't hurt Hulk." he said and I smiled lightly before I took his hand with both of mine.

"Where's John?" I asked and saw Spiderman and Clint checking on him. They both looked at me before Clint shook his head.

"I'm sorry Minnie. Looks like the fall broke his neck." Clint said and I let out a small sigh.

"Thanks." I muttered before I looked back at the SHIELD building. I looked up at the Hulk who was watching me and I sighed as I ran a hand over my face. "We're all going to be feeling this in the morning, aren't we?" I asked and he stared down at me for a moment before shrugging.

"Hulk not hurt." he said and I rolled my eyes with a small laugh before covering my still healing ribs with my hand.

"Men." I groaned and Hulk looked down at me with a small smile, before we heard a groan coming from the Abomination. We all looked as the creature started to shrink down. I walked over to him, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers not far behind as he shrank down to a man who when standing would have been around Clint's height with tattoos and blonde hair. He looked up, and gave a small couch before grinning at the Hulk.

"Did you always know you had to kill me, or did you think I'd forget?" he asked as the Hulk slowly turned back into Bruce. "Well?" he couched as blood splattered his lips.

"I knew." Bruce said from where he stood holding up what was left of his pants.

"How does it feel Banner?" the man on the ground asked. "To kill someone yet again, this time in front of your wife?" he looked at me and Bruce's hand met my shoulder. Without thinking I touched his hand briefly and then dropped it again.

"Just like all the other times." Bruce said lowly to the man.

"Oh but it's not like the other times." Blonsky said with a grin, showing off his blood covered teeth. "This time you can't blame the beast." he let out another gasping laugh before falling still and silent. I turned around, Bruce wrapped his arm around my waist as I allowed myself a moment to touch him, to feel him hold me before I remembered to find my jacket and gloves. As we walked back to the base I felt Bruce take my glove clad hand. I looked at him and he smiled lightly giving me a light squeeze before he pulled me close.

"I'm sorry you had to fight." he said and I shook my head. "But I am proud of you." he admitted and I smiled at him lightly.

"I don't even want to think about it." I sighed. "I just want to go get the girls and hug the crap out of them and go home." he nodded as he pulled me close, letting go of my hand so he could wrap his arm around my shoulders.

"Sounds like a plan." he said softly, and that's what we did.

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_**Like I said before, I hope ya'll liked that! Minnie is pissed and in the next chapters you can expect to see, Luke Cage, Rogue, the Honoring Ceremony, a party interrupted, family bonding, Tony's project, Betty Ross, and Norman Osborn loosing his mind. That's not all in the next chapter, but it's what you can expect before the end of the story! Don't forget to review, I love you for it, all of you!** _


	36. Chapter 36

_**Hey ya'll, sorry for the confusion, at the end of the last chapter I didn't say Rogue and Betty were going to be in THIS chapter, I said they would be in the chapters leading up to the end. Betty will be in the next chapter, but Rogue, not quite yet. Mind you, she IS coming, but, just not yet. Regardless, I hope you like this chapter, it's a bit of a filler, but I think it's good. Plus it's got more Amanda in it. **_

_**Disclaimer: By the end of this weekend I will own Marvel! Or... At least, a pair of Avengers socks... That counts, right?** _

* * *

After getting the girls and hugging the crap out of them like I said I was instantly called to do some damage control. Bruce had gone to get some clothes on so I walked the girls back to the house, but when we got there Amanda wouldn't leave my side. "Please, let me come." she said and I thought about it for a moment before I sighed and nodded.

"Fine, grab a jacket." I said before I lay Kayla down on mine and Bruce's bed. "Stay here with Daddy okay honey?" I asked and she nodded as she stuck her thumb into her mouth and lay there. I went to the bathroom where Bruce was finishing buttoning up a shirt. "I have to go do some damage control." I said to him and he looked at me with a slight frown. "I promise it won't take long."

"Okay." he said with a small nod.

"Amanda is coming with me, she doesn't want to leave my side right now and Kayla is lying in our bed."

"Alright." he said and I smiled before I turned to go. Bruce caught my hand quickly and turned me around before he pressed me up against the door, pinning me between him and the door he leaned down and caught my lips with his in a deep kiss. I moaned gently as I wrapped my arms around his neck, forgetting everything for that moment until he pulled back quickly. He let out a breath and shut his eyes, before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'll be back." I said as I put my hands on his arms. He looked back at me and then leaned in to lightly kiss me once more before I slipped out of the bathroom and found Amanda waiting in the living room. We went outside and walked back to the hangar where Phil was waiting for me.

"How many casualties?" I asked and he sighed as he shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Including the Abomination and John Liu, there's been a few." he said and I nodded.

"We need to handle this right, Norman needs to think he's won." I said and Phil nodded.

"So you want me to report casualties?"

"Yeah, but uh, don't say any names, or the number of casualties, just report casualties." I nodded and looked off to the distance where a huge line of police cars and swat teams were driving up. "And can you please send Agent Sitwell to deal with the locals."

"Got it." he nodded. "What's the plan on where to go from here?"

"I want to hit Norman where it hurts. He's done nothing but play dirty. Now it's time for us to get a little dirty." I said and Amanda looked at me curiously. "Norman's got two kids, have the state take them away." I said and Phil raised an eyebrow.

"He will just get them back within 24 hours."

"No he won't." I said and Phil nodded.

"Who do you want me to put on this?"

"Put CPS on it, then take the kids from them." I said simply and he nodded.

"And after that?"

"While that's happening, he'll have Leona come after us, we won't be here anymore; we're going back to New York. Send the kids to Agent Bluefox; she'll take care of them. While that's happening it's a good time to get to Virginia, I want to take out Dr. Fleischer."

"You want me to kill him?"

"No..." I said thoughtfully. "I want to scare him... Have Barton and Widow pick him up, they're the best at these sorts of things, I'm sure Parker will be good at intelligence gathering, he's done so much of it anyway, put him on the case as well."

"You know Stark Mansion will be one of the first places Norman looks."

"Which is why we aren't going there..." I said thoughtfully. "Where can we go, somewhere they don't have jurisdiction..."

"I have an idea." Amanda said suddenly and I looked at her. She was looking at Piotr who was helping Logan bring Blonsky's body into the hangar. "Why not Xavier's?"

"I think they'll be keeping an eye on the school, considering its a school for Mutants." Phil said and she sighed.

"It's a school for mutants, run by mutants who had abilities past what Norman can, and will expect." she said as she put her hands on her hips. Her eyes started to change colors and Phil held his hands up quickly.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked and I smiled lightly as I swatted her shoulder.

"Don't hassle Phil, he's one of our only real friends." I whispered in her ear and she nodded.

"I'm sure if they didn't want us to be found, we wouldn't be found." Amanda said to Phil who nodded.

"Do you think you can get in touch with them?" he asked and she nodded.

"I can figure something out." she said before she walked over to Piotr and Logan.

"She'd make a good agent." Phil said to me and I chuckled lightly.

"You know Felipe has a lot of friends in Manhattan, and a lot of power. I know he'd help us in any way possible."

"More than one safe house is a good idea." he said and I nodded.

"I'll get on that." I said to him.

"It will help when you're going into the party as well." he said and I nodded in agreement.

"Considering it will be in Stark Tower, the best way for us to get in would be through the penthouse. It's been sealed since we left, and it only opens for Tony, Pepper Rhodey, and myself."

"Rhodes is going to fly you into New York." he said and I smiled lightly.

"Good." I said.

"He also says he has a team of soldiers who are willing to help in any way possible."

"What is this, a Quentin Tarantino movie?" I asked softly and Phil grinned.

"Norman will try to make everything appear to be normal, there will be a lot of his police force there considering the event, but I think this is the best way."

"I suppose if Hawk puts an arrow through his eye socket I'll sleep a little better at night." I said and he smiled gently.

"You never were like this." he pointed out and I nodded.

"I never had a reason to be like this." I said to him and he nodded.

"Regardless of everything that's happened to you, I think you've handled it all very well. You're a good leader, and a very strong person." he said as he put his hands on my shoulders. I smiled and looked down before looking back at him.

"That's my name." I shrugged. "Might as well live up to it."

"The worst of it is almost over Minnie," he said and I smiled. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm up for it." I said to him. "There's more counting on us than just me. The entire United States is under the rule of a dictator, and I'm not letting that obsessive, psychotic, idiot go without a fight." I said strongly and he smiled.

"After all this is over, Fury will have to make you permanent." I chuckled lightly before he gave my shoulders a slight squeeze. "Go get some sleep." I nodded and got Amanda before going back to the house. Some agents would stop me and either congratulate me or ask me the next plan, but for the most part, people left us alone.

When I woke up the next morning Bruce had his arms wrapped around me and I was clinging to his shirt. "Morning." he said softly as I sat up.

"Where's Kayla?" I asked, letting go of his shirt.

"She ran off to her own bed around three." he said and I sighed before laying back on the bed. "How are your ribs feeling?"

"Good. It doesn't hurt to breathe anymore." I shrugged.

"All the physical contact with the Other guy and the Abomination, lent you some healing powers huh?" he asked and I nodded.

"I guess so." I said and he lay down on his side next to me.

"What's the plan?"

"Back to New York." I sighed and he frowned.

"Beck to New York?"

"Phil released a file stating there were many casualties from the Abomination. He didn't say who was killed, and we're going underground. For all Norman knows, we could all be dead." I shrugged.

"So we attack him when he thinks he's won?" Bruce asked and I nodded with a smile.

"He's not the only one we're getting while we're there. I have an order out to take custody of his children, and force Dr. Fleischer into our custody as well."

"You've got everything figured out." he said and I nodded. "What's Dr. Fleischer for?"

"I want him to reverse this." I said and he nodded slowly "I can't stay like this forever."

"Do you think it can be reversed?" he asked.

"I think he can damn well try." I stated and he sighed as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me up against him.

"Don't put all your eggs into that basket." he said softly. "I've been trying to cure myself for years. All I've been able to accomplish is finding ways of how not to cure myself. Sometimes things happen to people, things that weren't expected. I never expected to have the other guy living inside of me. But if it weren't for him, I'd never have met Tony, become an Avenger, or met you." he lightly kissed my forehead. "I never expected to be able to be with a woman again, let alone father a beautiful daughter like the one in the other room. Basically what I'm saying is with the bad, there's always something good. If what happened to you can't be reversed, I will do whatever I can to help you cope with it, the way you have helped me cope with the other guy." he said and I smiled before he leaned down and kissed my lips gently. "But I want you to know, if there is no cure, I'll always feel like I did the day I married you." he finished and I smiled before I leaned up and kissed him gently. He deepened our kiss slightly, until I pulled away. He sighed as I did, and opened his eyes.

"The sun's coming up." I said softly and he watched as I stood up and walked to the window. He got off the bed, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders while he walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around me, effectively draping the blanket over both of us while we watched the sun peeking over the horizon. "I'd better get ready." I said softly and he looked down at me. "This is going to be a time Norman will never forget."

When everyone woke up the Avengers met at the house for breakfast. "So what's the plan Minnie?" Tony asked and I looked at him as I sipped my coffee before I put the cup back down and cleared my throat.

"The plan is we go back to New York. Rhodes is on his way here, he'll refuel and take us back to New York, Logan, did you get a hold of Storm and the others at the school?"

"They said that everything would be fine Minnie." he nodded and I nodded.

"Good." I said. "I think the best thing for us to do would be to stay in safe places, Felipe has a house he's offered up, I do think it's best to have a few different places available to us. According to Dallas there's going to be a big party at Stark Tower honoring Norman's guard, and their best operatives, and to be honest, I think that'll be the best time to take him."

"That's clever, we can get in through the penthouse." Tony said and I nodded as I chewed a slice of bacon.

"I was thinking that. With JARVIS it won't be hard to override any security problems and glitches, not to mention silent alarms, and things like that." I shrugged.

"True." Tony nodded.

"I'm also having Norman's kids picked up by CPS, then taken into SHIELD custody." I said and they all looked at me.

"Norman's going to hate you."

"Because until that point he's been Ned Flanders?" I asked and Logan shrugged.

"That will be the one moment Norman knows- at least- you're alive." Barton said. "Are you prepared for that?"

"Yeah, because while that's happening, you and Natasha are going on a little road trip to Virginia where you'll be picking up one Dr. Hans Fleischer." I said as I looked at him.

"What's the point of attacking the party?" Steve asked and I looked down before I looked back at him.

"After last night, I think it's a good idea to let him think we're all gone, to let him think he's won, and to let down his defenses. When he's done that, then we make our presence and our strength known."

"This plan has the room to become foolproof." Thor said and I smiled lightly.

"Thanks Thor." I smiled.

"It has the room, but every room has got to have the right details." Tony said as he sipped his coffee. "Now let's go over the part where Stark Tower is throwing a party that I wasn't invited to..."

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**_Hope ya'll liked the chapter. I couldn't have Minnie and Bruce fight forever, and once she almost has her ribs crushed into an oblivion Bruce and Minnie both realize they didn't care about keeping the fight up any longer when all they wanted was each other and their daughters. I hope that this didn't get too fluffy for you. _**

**_Anyways, please don't forget to review!_ **


	37. Chapter 37

_**Hey ya'll, I was going to post this chapter right away, but then I decided I didn't like it, and I've rewritten it a few times. I like it now, and I think you guys will too. We're getting close to the stand off and everyone knows it! (P.S. Don't think HYDRA and HAMMER don't have a few more tricks up their sleeves, because they do.) Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter! I took my little sister to see the Avengers again. She cried when Coulson was killed, and cried out "Myeuh-muh!" when Thor found **__Mjölnir_, which made me elbow her pretty hardly in the shoulder. Can't take kids anywhere these days, what is this, Mystery Science Theater 3000? Ah well...

_**Disclaimer: It's days like this I wish I owned Marvel... Well, I wish that pretty much every day. But I don't.** _

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Dr. Fleischer stared at his notes in front of him, before reaching for the tissue box and taking two or three of them. He blew his nose very loudly, earning a semi disgusted look from one of the medical interns. He muttered in German under his voice and continued to work on the equation occasionally sniffling or coughing. He had a cold, and he felt miserable.

It was surprising to him, that someone who was so brilliant, and obviously important, could feel so low and miserable due to the common cold. He let out a sigh before he erased everything he had done in the past hour. It was all shit, he never got good work done when he was sick, and he knew it.

"Dr. Fleischer?" he looked up at the black haired intern who had been flitting around the lab for the past few weeks.

"Yes?" he asked her, the sound of his voice sounded a lot less smooth than he had hoped, and more congested. That was it, when he got home; he was working on a cure for the common cold.

"You asked me to tell you when it was 3:15." she said and he nodded, remembering that.

"Thank you Laura." he said, smiling at the intern who smiled back at him before holding out a Styrofoam cup.

"I thought you could use some tea on the way to your doctor's appointment." she said and he took it from her gratefully. "It's cinnamon clove." she said and he nodded as he slipped his lab coat off.

"Thank you again." he said as he sipped it. He finished getting his things and went to the elevator, preparing to leave for his doctor's appointment. His cold must have been worse than he thought because his head had started pounding.

He got to the parking lot where his car was and got into the driver's seat before reaching across to the glove compartment and taking out a bottle of aspirin he kept in there. He opened it and sighed to himself when he saw it was empty before tossing it back into the glove compartment. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot before he started to drive.

The headache was getting worse he noticed as he drove, he had to turn off the radio and took a drink from the cup of tea Laura had given him, but nothing seemed to help, the light was starting to hurt his eyes, he squinted, trying to keep his eyes on the road as the pain intensified, making it feel like his skull was splitting in half.

He groaned, shutting his eyes for a moment as he squeezed the bridge of his nose, then opened his eyes again. The moment however was all that was needed, as a large black SUV collided with the side of the car. His steering wheel airbag went off, thus making the headache a lot worse; he held his head, trying to rub his temples when his door opened.

"Let's go scumbag." a male voice said as they pulled the seatbelt off of him and yanked him out of the car. Opening his eyes he realized he was staring face to face with Clint Barton.

"Now I know I'm sick- You're dead!" Fleischer said, wincing at how loud his voice seemed as he stumbled along with Barton who was dragging him to the car.

"It just said casualties, not who or how many." Hawkeye said as he shoved Fleischer into the back seat of the SUV.

"This is the guy?" a male voice asked as the door slammed behind Dr. Fleischer. Hawkeye got into the front seat and the driver started to drive.

"That's him," a female voice said from the driver's seat. He opened his eyes, red hair- it had to be the Black Widow. He shut his eyes again; he was in so much pain right now. "He's probably got a bit of a headache. Our girl on the inside made sure of that."

"Laura works for you?" he groaned.

"Is _that_ what she's calling herself these days?" Hawkeye asked with a chuckle and Black widow let out a small amused sound.

"Give me your hands." the agent that was in the back seat with him said as he grabbed Dr. Fleischer's hands, and a moment later they were bound with a thick rope that he couldn't pull off if he tried. The saving grace was when the dark hood was put over his head, effectively blocking all lights.

After the car ride to god knows where he was led to a building, down a hallway, around some more halls, and into a room where he was pushed, rather unceremoniously into a metal chair. The bag was removed from his head, and he found himself in a room with bright fluorescent lights. He groaned and tried to put his head down on the table in front of him, only to have someone walk into the room, slamming the door both open and closed.

He jumped both times the door closed and opened his eyes. Standing in front of him were two figures, one of whom he recognized not from ever meeting him, but from the news, from magazines, and tabloids, and the internet, standing on the right was Tony Stark himself, his arms crossed over his chest, and looking none too amused, while on the left, holding a file, and wearing a pair of leather gloves was someone he recognized from actually meeting said person.

"I see our work was successful." he managed to say through the splitting headache.

"I thought you said he'd be in too much pain to talk." Mrs. Banner said to Tony Stark who sighed.

"Guess we'll have to work on that in the next batch." Tony said nonchalantly. "Since you're talking and everything, maybe you can tell us a thing or two about this little party tomorrow night- unless of course you weren't invited..."

"Of course he was invited Tony." Mrs. Banner said. "If he wasn't, that'd be pretty embarrassing." she chuckled as she looked at Dr. Fleischer who looked at the two of them.

"That's true, seeing as he's the one who figured out how to turn people into Norman's own little slave army."

"That's funny, I heard Fury described them as uh, Personal Flying Monkeys." she shrugged as she sat on the end of the table.

"Oh yeah..." Tony grinned as he thought about that, then turned to Dr. Fleischer and grinned. "You met one of them earlier, Hawkeye. See, Loki had this scepter, when you put it against someone's chest, it would-"

"_Tony, get on with it."_ a voice came over the intercom making Dr. Fleischer wince, and try to shrink away, into the wall.

"Oh look at that, he's still sensitive." Tony said and Mrs. Banner looked up from what she was reading, and nodded.

"So he is."

"So, tell me, Doc, you planning on telling us what we need to know?"

"_Verpiss dich_." Dr. Fleischer spat at Tony who looked at Mrs. Banner who was now looking at the doctor with interest.

"Did he just tell me to-"

"Yeah, he did." Minnie nodded, before standing up and kneeling down in front of the doctor. "Listen up, _Versager_." she said and he looked at her with hatred in his eyes. "You might want to consider changing your attitude, because that headache isn't going to go away on its own, not for a good eight to sixteen hours. Now, we've got the cure to it, and we've got a sound system wired to this room, ready to fill it full of the darkest, loudest black metal straight from Norway, and let me tell you, I'm a metal fan, and some of this stuff scares the crap out of me." she smiled. "Now you've got another choice-"

"This one's my favorite." Tony grinned and Mrs. Banner smiled at him before looking back at Hans.

"We're all really hoping you pick this one too, as you remember, a few years ago I was pregnant, you all found that out after you kidnapped me, and threatened to cut the baby out of me so that you could get your hands on the DNA of my- at the time- boyfriend. Well, we're married now, and as it turns out, he's still pretty pissed about that. He's asked me to give him some time alone with you. I've considered letting him have that time too. But I thought, why don't we give Dr. Fleischer a chance to cooperate. So you've got three choices. Get the cure, and cooperate; Get another dose, and have the worst headache you've ever felt while listening to Nordic black metal, and never sleep right for the rest of your life; _or_ have a little alone time with my husband, who is both _extremely_ pissed off, and _dying_ to finally meet you. What'll it be?"

The door opened and Dr. Fleischer looked over Mrs. Banner's shoulder to see Bruce Banner leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. He raised his eyebrows and slipped his glasses off before sliding them into his front pocket, Mrs. Banner looked back at Hans who looked from her to Tony and then to Bruce again, and she sighed. "Looks like he's made his choice." she said as she stood up. "He's all yours hon." she said to Bruce who started to take his watch off.

"_Ich werde zusammen, bitte, ich werde dir alles erzählen!_" Dr. Fleischer said and Tony looked at Mrs. Banner who put her hand on her husband's shoulder. He stopped and looked back at her as she turned back to Dr. Fleischer who looked horrified.

"Good choice doc." she said, before looking at the other two. "He says he'll cooperate."

"Can we pretend for a minute that you don't know what he said?" Tony asked and she seemed to be weighing the option while sweat formed on Dr. Fleischer's brow before she shook her head.

"If he gives us any wrong information, I'll let you two have the first round." she said and Dr. Fleischer looked at her with fear and curiosity.

"The first round?" he asked.

"What, you thought we were the only two pissed at you?" Bruce asked as he grabbed Dr. Fleischer by the arm and hoisted him up.

* * *

I watched as Bruce and Tony hauled Dr. Fleischer out of the room, and I looked at Steve who had his fists clenched, and Thor who had his arms crossed over his chest, looking down, deep in thought, with an angered expression on his face. Logan was standing there as well, also looking none too happy, along with Clint, Natasha and Peter. "He doesn't deserve a choice." Natasha said and I looked at her before looking to everyone else.

"You all feel that way?" I asked and they nodded making me smile softly. "Because he tried to cut my baby out of me?" I asked and they nodded. "That's sweet guys, but, as much as we hate him- and trust me, there isn't anyone who hates him as much as I do- for now, he gets a choice. And as long as he continues to make the right choice, he will continue to be useful to us. The minute he isn't useful to us, that's the minute I make a choice. What to do with him." I smiled gently at that.

"But for the time being, Steve, Natasha, Logan," I nodded to the three of them. "Go along with Tony and get some information out of him, Clint, I want you to put out a bulletin to our people in Canada, tell them that Dr. Fleischer is cooperating and giving us tons of information." I smiled and Clint let out a small laugh before he walked over and gave me a quick one armed hug before he walked away. "Thor, you can come with me and Bruce to drop off the girls, and Peter, I want you to go to Stark Tower with Dallas, get pictures, do detective work, all that fun stuff, and report back here when you've got enough, okay?" I asked and he saluted before walking away.

"Your bravery amazes me." Thor said and I looked at him curiously. "You not only are brave enough to send off your children when you know battle is imminent, but you overcome your fear to get information from a man who scares you to your very core. On Asgard we have such a warrior, known as Balder the Brave, he is a friend. Songs and legends of him have been shared over time, though I feel, by the end of this, he shall be rivaled for his title." he said with a smile on his face. I looked at him for a moment before I threw my arms around him. He hugged me back with a chuckle before I let go, he reached out and wiped the tears that were falling down my cheeks and shook his head. "Do not cry Minnie, you have much more than Norman Osborn could possibly hope to have. Your friends will not let you down." he said and I let out a small laugh.

"Can I try something Thor?" I asked and he nodded as I took my gloves off. I hesitated before I lay a hand on his arm. "Do you feel anything?"

"I feel your hand upon my arm." he said as he looked at me. "But I do not feel the weakness many have said to feel upon your touch."

"That's good to know." I nodded. "Thank you Thor, for trusting me." I said as I slipped the gloved back on.

"Is everything okay?" Bruce asked when he came upstairs.

"It's fine." I smiled at him and he nodded before he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"The girls will be fine there." he said to me softly and I nodded.

"I know, it's the best place for them." I replied. After picking up the girls we drove to Xavier's school for gifted youngsters.

"Mrs. Banner," I smiled at the old man in his wheelchair who had come to greet us at the front of the school. Kayla was in my arms and clinging to my neck very tightly. "It's very good to meet you finally."

"It's nice to meet you too Professor." I said to him with a smile. "May I introduce Thor Odinson, my husband Bruce, and our daughter, Makayla Banner." Kayla gasped suddenly and I looked at her as she stared at Professor Xavier in shock.

"Hi, you must be Mrs. Banner, and Dr. Banner" a pretty red headed woman said as she came out of the mansion and shook my hand. "I'm Jean Grey, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." I smiled at her as I shook her hand.

"Hi." Bruce shook her hand.

"It's good to see you Dr. Grey." Amanda smiled at her and Dr. Grey hugged her tightly.

"It's good to have you back." she said and then looked at Kayla who was staring at Professor Xavier. "This must be Makayla."

"Hm?" she looked up, and then smiled at Dr. Grey. "Hi." she said with a smile.

"If you want I'm prepared to show you all around." she said and I nodded.

"After your tour I'd like to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Banner." Professor Xavier said and Dr. Grey nodded. We walked around the school and the grounds, Dr. Grey telling us all about both while Amanda would wave or talk to some of her friends at times.

"This place is amazing." I said softly to Bruce who was holding my hand.

"Is there anything we should know about her allergies or anything?" Dr. Grey was asking with a pretty woman with darker skin and white hair came into the room.

"Hi, my name is Ororo Munroe, I just came to tell you their room is ready." she smiled at us.

"I asked Storm to put us in a room together." Amanda explained and Bruce wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a small squeeze.

"Thank you." I smiled at Ms. Munroe who smiled back at me and then looked at Kayla who was sitting on Thor's shoulders.

"Hi there, you must be Kayla. Amanda's told me all about you." she smiled.

"Did she tell you my name is My-Kayla Warrior of Midsgard?" she asked and Ororo laughed lightly.

"She might have mentioned it." she said and then looked at Thor, and then back at Kayla. "Who is this? Another warrior?"

"No, he's the pony I ride into war." she said and I laughed as Bruce chuckled and Amanda grinned.

"The small warrior's wish is my command." Thor said with a grin and Ororo smiled at him. "I am Thor." he offered her a hand and she shook it.

"She doesn't have any allergies we're aware of." I said to Dr. Grey who wrote it down. "She's mostly potty trained, but she does have accidents, I put some night time pull ups in her bag, uh, Amanda knows most of her quirks, and she is really, really great with her, so thank you for putting them in the same room, it'll be good for Kayla to be so close to her, um, sometimes she can't sleep at night, and she has a security blanket, but, um, what she can't sleep, she's a really big Elvis fan, so if she could just hear a song by him, it knocks her right out..." I felt myself starting to get choked up and I let out a deep breath as Bruce put his arm around my shoulders.

"I can sing the Elvis, it'll be fine." Amanda said and I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her. "Don't worry, everything will be fine." she said as she hugged me.

"She's extremely intelligent for her age, she takes after her mother," Bruce said and I smiled at him. "We gave you the contact information in case... Well, in case. The information we gave you is for Minnie's parents on the west coast. They're good people, and they love the girls."

"That brings me to another point," Dr. Grey said and looked at Amanda. "No offence sweetie."

"None taken, technically, I'm not a Banner, but my father isn't in the picture, you guys know that." she said with a shrug. "Worst comes to worst, I'm going with Kayla." she said and Dr. Grey nodded before looking at me.

"Your parents know that?"

"Yeah." I nodded and she nodded.

"Okay, that's everything." she said and then smiled. "Why don't I show the girls to their room and let you two go talk to the Professor?" she asked and I looked at Bruce who nodded. We went to the office that Dr. Grey had directed us to while Thor went with Kayla and Amanda to see their new room. Bruce raised a hand to knock on the door, but a voice called out from inside before he even had the chance.

"Come in." the voice of Professor Xavier was calm and collected, and gentle from the other side of the door. Bruce opened the door and we walked inside, closing the door behind us.

After our talk with Professor Xavier we went back to the main hallway where the girls and Thor were coming downstairs. "Mommy, how long are we going to stay here?" Kayla asked as Thor took her off of his shoulders.

"Just for a few days, okay baby?" I asked as I knelt down next to her.

"And then you'll come get me?"

"That's right sweetie," I said as I brushed her hair from her face. "Mommy and Daddy will both come to get you." I smiled at her.

"You're going to have fun here." Bruce said and he knelt down in front of her.

"Why aren't you staying too?"

"Because, we've got to do some work, and..." Bruce trailed off slightly before he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "Because Mommy and Daddy have to go save the world." he said with a small smile making her eyes widen as she looked at him, and then to me.

"Really?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "But when the world is safe in a few days, we'll come back, and we'll get you okay?"

"Okay." she beamed and I laughed as she hugged me tightly. "I know you'll win." she said and kissed me. I smiled at her and she hugged Bruce tightly, and kissed him. "You're gonna get all big and green huh Daddy?"

"Yeah baby, I'm gonna get all big and green." he laughed.

"And you're gonna squish those guys huh?" she asked and he nodded.

"You bet I am."

"And Thor's gonna squish them, and Uncle Tony's gonna zap them, right?" she asked and I laughed.

"You've got it all figured out pretty girl." I said as Bruce and I both stood up. Bruce held her in his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Draw us lots of pictures while you're here okay?" I asked and she nodded.

"Do you have to go now?" she whined and I felt tears filling my eyes.

"I'm afraid so." I said and she looked up at me and then smiled.

"Don't cry Mommy, you're going to win." she smiled and I smiled before hugging her again tightly.

"My-Kayla, Amanda, we shall come back for you in a few days time." Thor said to the two of them and they nodded as Bruce put Kayla down and hugged Amanda tightly.

"Stay safe, okay? And don't let Tony do anything stupid, and don't let Piotr do anything dangerous, and keep an eye on Mom, okay?" Amanda said into Bruce's shoulder as she hugged him.

"I promise." he said softly to her.

"I love you." she said to him as I fussed over Kayla.

"I love you too." he said softly. "And I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time about Piotr." she laughed and pulled away from him.

"God, now I know you're scared." she said and he rolled his eyes making her giggle. She walked over and hugged me and I hugged her back.

"We'll see you in a few days Sweetheart." I said and she nodded into my shoulder.

"You better." she said and I laughed. "You're the only mom I've ever had, you know?" she asked and I nodded before I gently kissed the top of her head. After Thor said good bye we went back to the car and left the school, I sat in the back seat while Thor and Bruce both sat in the front.

"Tony?" I asked when he answered his phone. "What did he give you?"

"More like what _didn't_ he give us?" Tony asked with a small chuckle. "You'd be surprised how twitchy he gets when we let him think Bruce is right on the other side of a door. Oh, by the way? You're going to need a dress."

* * *

**_Hey ya'll, hope you enjoyed! I know I said Betty would be in this chapter, but I didn't like the way it was written before, like I said, so I rewrote it, and she just didn't fit with this chapter, so I had to cut her out. She'll be in the story soon enough, but it might not be until the end. _**

**_Anyways, don't forget to review!_ **


	38. Chapter 38

_**Hey guys, I'm sorry this is taking me so long. I've got a lot of things going on right now, and I may be a little time to get through some of it. I'm trying to finish this story as best as I can, and I'm trying to do it quickly, but right now I just need a little bit of time to work on getting through this. I'll tell you about it someday, but right now, I need to work on myself.** _

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own Marvel.**  
_

* * *

The President was sat in the Oval Office when one of his aides walked in, a younger man by the name of Davis Gregory with soft blonde hair and a thick Georgia accent. "Sir, Norman Osborn is here to see you." Davis said and President Halloran frowned lightly.

"Norman Osborn? What the hell is he doing here?"

"Uh, he says it's concerning the incident with the... Thing that destroyed Harlem a few years ago."

"The Hulk?"

"No sir, the other one."

"Oh, the scary one!"

"Yes sir, the scary one. Well, he says it's concerning the incident with that the other day."

"Well... Okay, let him in." President Halloran sighed. Davis nodded and went to the waiting room before letting Norman Osborn in who had a very smug smile on his face.

"President Halloran, thank you for seeing me on such short notice. I promise I'll try to keep this brief."

"I have to say I was surprised when I was told you wanted to talk about the incident from a few days ago. There's a full scale investigation going into this you know, "Sorry, you want to run that one by me again?"

"I let him out. I let Blonsky out of his cage."

"_Blonsky_? That _thing_ has a name?"

"Yes sir. He was a war hero and the perfect man for the job."

"He was- he was _huge_, and _mutated_ and _dangerous_-"

"Yes, and he did his job _perfectly_. It's such a shame to lose such a valuable asset."

"_**Why**_?" President Halloran managed to blurt out.

"Simple. I had a target that needed to be taken out."

"What target could you possibly put him up against without it being overkill? They'll be scraping bodies up for weeks!"

"I hope so." Norman smirked. "I sent him to take care of those remaining bastards at SHIELD."

"_**SHIELD**_?!" the president turned to look back at Norman in horror. "You- You sent that thing to take out our own? How could you-"

"They weren't ours anymore. They were ordered to disband, they were ordered to join me, but they ignored it. They move off of American soil and were an active threat."

"How were they a threat?! They were off American soil, being quiet and not actively trying to hurt anyone, which is more than you can say with your little army of freaks!"

"Granted they need a little work, but with some more re-education, they'll be better." Norman said casually. "SHIELD was housing the Avengers, and had in their possession an asset I greatly needed."

"You had him kill _the Avengers_? Is that even _**possible**_?" the president was practically out of breath from shouting. He hadn't even freaked out this badly when his daughter was sixteen and dinged the car when she snuck out and went to a party with her friends.

"For the most part, they're only human."

"Did it work?"

"We believe so. There's been a report of casualties, and the last transmission they had was the announcement they were going black."

"Good god Osborn." the president sighed as he put his head in his hands. "Why are you _telling_ me this?"

"Because the Avengers have been on almost every most wanted list there is- the FBI wouldn't change theirs, I think you should talk to them about cooperating with me more, but I think the American people deserve to know that the threat is no longer a problem."

"Norman, you sick bastard, you really want me to gloat about what you did?!" the president said in shock and a little bit of disgust.

"Yes." he replied easily

"No, they- the American people will not be happy! They love the Avengers, ever since that ET incident, they're going to be so upset."

"They'll change their mind. They'll grow to understand and accept the heroes they still have rather than pine for ones that turned their backs on them."

"When did they do that? All I saw happen was them turn their backs on you. Turn their backs on you because you're an evil little man who wanted to make them agree to be under your control. And when you couldn't get them to agree to everything you were doing you freaked out and had them exiled. Made them go underground! It's no wonder they went to Canada Osborn!"

"They kidnapped a New Yorker just a few weeks ago. A Young man named Peter Parker-"

"_**Peter Parker**_?! That kid with the anti-Osbcorp blog? I'm pretty sure they didn't have to kidnap him."

"They assaulted one of my agents."

"I'm sure he started it."

"MR. President, like it or not, the world security council chose me to try to keep this country safe on a level you couldn't begin to imagine. With that responsibility I have to make the hard choices. Choices pencil pusher like you can't make and I made the right decision, whether you or the American People think so." Norman said simply, as if he were explaining something to a small child.

"Norman, I'm not sure you understand the severity of the situation. You sent a rogue to a different country to take care of someone you considered a threat. No one else thought they were a threat, The Canadians are going to have your ass for this."

"Well I trust as the President you can explain it to them-"

"No, I can't and I won't. You dug yourself into this hole, and just because I'm the president doesn't mean shit. I didn't sanction this attack. Hell, they probably think it was an attack on them, you've got to talk to them, you've got to clean up your own fucking mess, or so help me god, I will strip you of every title, every asset, and every connection you have an throw you into Gitmo for the rest of your life."

"They closed Gitmo."

"Did they Norman? _Did they_?"

With that the President stood up, his hands shaking with fury as he pointed to the door. "Get the hell out of my office." he said, his voice shaking. Norman stood up slowly and looked the President over momentarily before he turned.

"When the reporters ask- and they will ask- you'll need to tell them something. Do you want it to be that it was all a plan, or that it was the work of a rogue government agency you have no control over pulling off one of the greatest assassinations since Bin Laden?" Norman asked and looked at the President who just pointed at the door.

"Out." he said dryly. Norman shrugged and walked out of the oval office allowing the President to sink down into his chair, putting his head in his hands and letting out a long groan.

* * *

"Good afternoon everyone," the president said to the members of the press and then looked at the teleprompter in front of him. "The incident in Canada a few days ago was part of a plan involving..." he paused and then shut his eyes. When he opened them everyone was staring at him curiously, cameramen, reporters, his family, everyone. "I'm sorry. When I was campaigning, I promised I would tell you the truth. I told you I was a man to trust. And because of that, I'm not going to lie like I'm expected to. What happened in Canada was the direct result of a grudge. A grudge held by the man that was assigned to keep you safe. You know him as the man who enforced the Registration Act and the Fifty State Initiative. He took those with special abilities and gave them jobs using their abilities to keep us safe. But what was so unsafe about things before? What was so bad about Mutants working, and existing among us without wearing those ridiculous costumes, without them using their powers and abilities whenever they were told. The incident in Canada was orchestrated by Norman Osborn, he came to me this afternoon asking me to tell you this, and asking me to tell you, the area attacked was an area known to be helping the Avengers." a loud gasp gent through the room, and reporters muttered to each other. "Please, I'm afraid I must also tell you that casualties have been reported, and while there has been no official names or numbers, what's left of their entire compound has gone dark..."

* * *

Norman chuckled to himself from his office where he watched the President's speech. He tapped his fingers on his desk and grinned widely. The American public wouldn't fell for this president's little pity speech about the Avengers and banding together. No. He smiled as he thought about that incident from a few years back, he had seen the video of Loki in Germany, his speech to the crowd, it had been very spot on. People had been made for servitude, and he planned on using them to their highest potential. He was pondering his tie for the evening when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." he called and smiled when Victoria Hand walked in. "Did you see?" he asked nodding to the TV.

"Yes sir, I did." she said with a nod, looking semi troubled.

"You know the party will be a success, no one will be able to talk about anything else! Speaking of which, who are you bringing? Your boyfriend, husband, what?"

"My _fiancé_, sir,"

"Great! What's his name?"

"Isabelle."

"Okay." he said after a moment of silently staring down at his post it, and then writing it down. "Is that with one 'L' or two?"

"Two sir."

"Great, okay, so, you and Isabelle, I'll expect to see you there, now if that's all-"

"That's not all sir." she said before she walked in all the way, closing the door. "We've continued to monitor all known SHIELD members in case there was any word from them, and, well, there was an email today sir; To an Agent in California."

"What did it say?"

"It said..." she sighed and then handed him the file. He opened it and started to read. "It says they have apprehended Dr. Fleischer, and that he's cooperating. Some of the information they've checked that he's given them has checked out, and that they're checking more of it. Sir, with the things he knows-"

"Have we checked and made sure they're not lying? Call the labs; see if he's there and if they're trying to scare us."

"I've called everywhere, I sent a team to his apartment, I've called in Madame Hydra, so far, no one knows anything." she sighed. "Our best bet is to assume they're telling the truth and we go from there." she said and he stared darkly at the papers.

"Do we know who these are from?" he questioned.

"We don't sir." she said as the phone started to ring. "Allow me." she picked it up and hit a button answering the phone. "Norman Osborn's office..." she frowned and looked at him before slowly handing the phone over.

"Hello?" he barked into the phone. "No, I don't know what you're talking about... Why would they come pick them up, my children are fine!" he frowned into the phone. "Excuse me? Child Protective Services!?" he bellowed and stood up. "Do you have any idea what you're doing, what you've done, you complete and utter fool! When my lawyers get hold of you...!" he spurted out before hanging up the phone. "Child protective services took my children out of school; said something about them being raised in an unfit household! Call my lawyer, have Leona look for that idiot Hans!" he ordered.

"Sir, what about the ceremony tonight?" Victoria Hand asked with a frown.

"Either way, it's still going on!" he decided as he grabbed his keys and coat, walking out of the office.

* * *

**_I hope you like this chapter! It's a bit of a filler, but it's showing a different side of things. _**

**_Please don't forget to review!_ **


	39. Chapter 39

**_Hey ya'll, here's another chapter for you! I hope you like it! We're about to get into some awesome action stuff, which is going to be so much fun! Rogue is in the next chapter finally (I know, I said that ages ago, and I'm sorry, but this time it's true!) Also, I think I've decided to tell you about what happened to me. _**

**_When I went to Las Vegas last week, I met a guy, we had some drinks, we went to his hotel room, and to make a long story short, I said no, and he didn't listen. You should know that you always have the right to say no, it's been really hard for me lately, I'm getting into counseling for it, and I'm calling the rape crisis hotline a lot, but I still lock my door to my room when I sleep and keep my windows closed at night, even though it's been pushing 100+ degrees at night. I can't go to the grocery store after dark anymore and I can't stop reliving it... I'm sorry to unload all of this on you guys, but I think you understand me when I say you always imagine it as one of those things that happens to other people, but it never happens to you, well, it happened to me. I wasn't expecting it at all, and now that it's happened, I feel like a completely different person. Everyone keeps telling me it's not my fault what happened, and I understand that, but it doesn't change the feeling. So anyways, what I'm trying to tell you, all of you, is that you have the right to say no, and to enforce no if the other person doesn't want you to say no. I wish that I had enforced no, rather than spending the next day driving all over an unfamiliar town looking for the Plan B pill. The only thing that's distracted me is working on this story a little bit, and watching Firefly. I had just stared watching Firefly before it happened, and when I came back I just threw myself in the show because it made me feel normal, and made me think back to before this happened. I'll be updating the story soon after this, we're getting pretty close to the end. _**

**_Disclaimer: Still don't own Marvel._ **

* * *

"Are my babies okay?" Dallas asked when he got to the building we were using that belonged to Felipe's company.

"They're fine, they're at the school upstate, and they'll be safe there." I nodded and he sighed before he held up a few bags of covered clothes.

"Okay, Mr. Stark, you're lucky Minnie told me Captain Rhodes' password to your penthouse, I was able to get you a tux, a watch, shoes-"

"You do realize he'll be in the Armor, right?"

"Well he'll look damn good _underneath it_." he snapped at Bruce who held up his hands in surrender.

"Baby, Dallas is stressed." I said to Bruce who nodded.

"Yeah I got that." he said softly.

"Okay, Pep, honey, I found the cutest dress ever in your closet, shoes, jewelry, everything." he said as he handed her a dress bag and a shoe box. "Okay, so Natasha, I know you can kick butt wearing whatever is lucky enough to be put on your kick butt bod, so here's a fabulous dress for you, shoes, etc." he said as he handed a dress to her. "Alright, I have suits for everyone, Minnie, you owe me big time, I literally make Alexander cry." he said pointing to me. I laughed and shook my head.

"Alexander deserves it." I said and he shrugged but nodded his head in agreement.

"So, tell me something, if you're expecting to have to fight these guys, why is everyone suiting up, rather then... Well, your version of suiting up?" he asked and I smiled lightly.

"Well, Tony is." I said and he laughed.

"I mean, I get the whole black tie thing, but, aren't you guys scared of people recognizing you?"

"If you act like you belong at these things, people generally don't notice you." Natasha said.

"And you're getting in through the roof?" Dallas asked and I shook my head.

"No, Tony, Thor and Hawkeye are getting in through the roof, we're going in from the other direction." I explained.

"The garage!" he nodded. "Of course."

"And Pepper is our distraction." I said as I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait, how does that work?"

"Pepper is going to show up, in a limousine, and walk right in the front door. She's going to talk to the press, and tell them that we've been in Dubai and that we're still there, but that she was in town for business, seeing as she's still involved in the business. As of this afternoon the entire world thinks we're dead, and since by now Norman knows we not only have Dr. Fleischer, but his children as well, to find out we're still alive, and have been in "Dubai"," I said as I used air quotes. "Norman's going to shit a brick." I grinned and he sighed as he shook his head.

"You evil devious woman," he said with a grin before he kissed me quickly. "I love you so much!" he sighed with an amused smile, before he quickly waved his hands at us. "Go, go, get ready!" he said and I rolled my eyes.

"What is this place anyway?" I asked as Dallas handed me a dress bag and a shoe box.

"It's business lodging for Felipe's family's companies, their partners and businessmen who are in town for a very short time stay here for the most part." he said as he pointed out different rooms for people to get ready in. "Come along Cordelia." he said as he linked my arm through his.

We got to a room and he went to work on my hair, curling it, then brushing it out and twisting it into a curly bun. I was given a floor length teal dress made of satin with a single sleeve over my left shoulder. It fit well over my chest down to my hips, but hung loose over my legs, where I wore a pair of knee length leggings that no one would see. I wore a pair of lace black flats and wore a minimal amount of makeup, without gloves.

If this was going to be a party full of the enemy, I would be making damn sure that I would be as deadly as possible. When Dallas finished he looked at me for a long time and sighed. "This is my best look yet." he said and I looked at him.

"I never understood why you went into Stark Industries rather than going to cosmetology school." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"Why pay someone to teach me what I already know? Besides, I like to do this, you don't go to school to do the things you like." he said as he shook his head. "Besides, Stark Industries had something cosmetology school didn't have."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, Tony Stark." he said with a scoff and I laughed. There was a light knock on the door and Dallas looked at me before he got up and opened it. I smiled seeing Bruce as I stood up.

"I forgot how good you look in a suit." I said as I walked over to him and he smiled lightly as he lightly brushed a loose strand of hair from my face.

"You ready?" he asked and I nodded.

"Dallas is going to be there to help Pepper with whatever we need. I'm sure Norman will be trying to shut down Jarvis and trying to cut off any help we may have, but we'll have more help than we planned for." I smiled and he nodded as he looked at Dallas who was calmly putting things away.

"You sure you want to get involved?" he asked Dallas who looked over at him.

"Love bug, I have _always_ been involved. But if you're asking me if I want to _stay involved_, even though there's no knowing what's going to happen next, then yeah, I'm staying involved." he said and Bruce nodded. His phone buzzed and he looked at it before looking up. "Happy is here with your car. You guys go ahead, I'll see you there." he smiled and we nodded before leaving. Bruce put his hand on my lower back as we walked down the hall, to where everyone else was waiting.

* * *

The vigil had started almost as soon as the President's speech ended, people from all over New York, and Jersey started showing up with candles, stuffed animals, pictures, posters and flowers and started laying them down outside of Stark Tower, at first Norman's security guards tried keeping them away, making them leave, but the people were persistent.

After that, the protesters started showing up, laying down flowers for the fallen Avengers, and taking up picket signs with phrases against HAMMER and Oscorp. Some even had Anti- Hydra posters. As the day went on their numbers grew, and when the police were brought in to hold the groups back while Norman's guests showed up at Stark Tower, the people grew angry, shouting about how it was wrong to throw a party on that day, which was true, however it seemed to fuel Norman's love of being the center of attention.

Reporters had shown up from all over the world to cover that night, and now they had another thing to focus on, everyone who came to the party was asked how they felt knowing they were supporting the man responsible for ordering the attack that had allegedly killed the Avengers.

The real high point of the evening was when most of Norman's guests had arrived, as had Norman himself, via helicopter and landed on the roof before taking an elevator down to the party, not acknowledging the press or the public, which caused an outrage among the people; the high point had come when a familiar to the press town car pulled up and the familiar driver and bodyguard of Tony Stark got out of the car and opened the back door to reveal the always beautiful, and looking particularly lovely in her long white dress with a square neckline, her hair done up beautifully, and her makeup flawless, while she smiled brightly at all of the photographers as she got out of the car. Happy helped her out and handed the keys to a valet before walking behind her as she walked over to a group of reporters, one of which being Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair.

"_**Mrs. Stark, Mrs. Stark**_!" people were shouting at her, but she locked eyes with Christine who smiled. Though the girls had shared words over the years and never particularly liked each other, they respected each other for what the other had done, both for Tony. Christine had shown Tony the truth behind Obadiah Stane, and Pepper had always been there for him, and loved him unconditionally, which was something Tony had always needed.

"Mrs. Stark," Christine said as Pepper walked over to her, all the other reporters growing quiet. "Have you anything to say regarding the President's speech this afternoon?"

"Yes I do," Pepper smiled. "We thank the president for his support, and we would like to address the comments regarding the death of the Avengers. Many good people were lost in that unfortunate attack upon the base, however, we weren't there." she said and people started chattering. "When Mr. Osborn started harassing Tony, and our company we decided it would be best to step away from what was happening. We did not support the Registration Act, and when his health started failing a little there, our doctors thought it would be best for my husband to be moved somewhere less stressful for a time so he could heal in peace. Truth be told, Mr. Osborn was the reason we left, his continuing harassment of us and our family and friends was too much, so we took some time and went to Dubai." she said and Christine smiled lightly as if she didn't entirely believe it, but wasn't going to call Pepper out on it.

"What kind of health problems was Tony- Mr. Stark suffering from?"

"He had been in a car accident, he needed time to heal." Pepper said easily.

"So all of the Avengers are fine?" one reporter next to Christine asked, trying to shove his microphone in Pepper's face. She shot him a look, but nodded all the same.

"They're all fine. A little annoyed at what's happened with them gone, but alive and quite well." she smiled.

"And why are you here tonight?" Christine asked making Pepper scoff lightly.

"Well, the ceremony is being held at Stark Tower, which is one of the Stark Industries buildings, and seeing as I'm a Stark, there should be someone here to represent." she replied and Christine raised an eyebrow.

"Should we expect to see Mr. Stark tonight?" she asked and Pepper sighed.

"Oh you know Tony," she said with a smile. "You never know what to expect with him." she gave Christine a look and Christine smiled lightly before clearing her throat.

"Thank you for your time Mrs. Stark." she said and Pepper nodded before she nodded to Happy and the two walked inside.

* * *

"Mr. President," Davis Greggory walked into the Oval Office where the President was working. "There's someone here to see you sir."

"At this hour?" the president asked looking at the small clock on his desk.

"Yes sir, I think you'll want to talk to him. He says his name is Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD."

"Let him in." the president said quickly. He stood up as Nicky Fury walked in, and instantly felt semi intimidated, but extended his hand nonetheless. "Director Fury," he said as he shook the man's hand. "It's an honor to meet you sir, I was afraid that the-"

"No, the Abomination didn't get me. I was in a safe house at the time. According to reports, I died weeks ago." he said and the president frowned.

"Well if you died weeks ago, who's been running SHIELD?"

"That's been up to a few people, Agent Coulson, one of my best men, and Mrs. Banner, the granddaughter of one of our founders, and a good agent. But enough about that, that's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to talk to you about the Words Security Council, Norman Osborn, and the Avengers." he said and the President looked interested.

"What about them?" he asked and a woman wearing a tight blue uniform walked in and handed Director Fury a file.

"I think we can help." Fury said as he handed the file over to the president.

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**_Hope you liked it, please don't forget to review!_ **


	40. Chapter 40

_**Hey guys, sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted all the action to be in the next chapter which will be out soon! I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has messaged me and review with your caring, and sweet words of encouragement after my memo in the last chapter. Thank you to all of you, and I'm sorry if I haven't replied to all of you yet, I'm trying to as best as I can, so be patient. Well, without further adieu, here is chapter 40! I hope you like it! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or anyone you recognize, except for my characters.** _

* * *

Pepper smiled as she talked to the reporters, because as long as they were paying attention to her, they didn't think twice to look at the limo that was following all the others into the underground parking lot. As it pulled to a stop Bruce and I stepped out from the front, I adjusted his tie before knocking on the glass. The door opened and the rest of the team climbed out of the back, all dressed to the nines, and none looking too pleased about it. "If the Other Guy comes out, I'm going to feel pretty bad destroying this." Bruce had admitted to me earlier making me smile affectionately as I smoothed down the front of the jacket and look up at him.

"Don't worry. Alexander owes me some favors; we'll get you another one when this is all over."

"Minnie, code?" I looked over to Peter who was standing by the elevator.

"Wrong elevator." I said as I walked over and took them to the red door elevator and punched in Rhodey's code. The doors opened and we stepped inside.

"Uh, why are there no buttons?" Peter asked as he looked at the wall.

"Jarvis, to the party please." I chuckled.

"Right away Mrs. Banner, and may I say, good to have you back."

"It's good to be back Jarvis." I said.

"Dr. Banner, I hope your daughters are okay."

"They're fine Jarvis, we've sent them to a safe place."

"Who is uh..."

"That's Jarvis, he runs the building." I explained quickly. "He's the best AI I have ever worked with." I replied.

"Mr. Stark has asked me to inform you he's planning a test drive for the new suit tonight and that he expects it to be his best yet."

"And what do you think?"

"My programming isn't in the position to argue with him." Jarvis replied making me chuckle.

"Jarvis, has anyone gained access to the Penthouse?" I questioned.

"Only Dallas under your command I expect. Does he not know that the keypads are fitted with fingerprint analyzers?"

"What do fingerprints have to do with anything?" Steve asked softly.

"Every Stark employee gives their fingerprints as part of the hiring process. Even if I hadn't given Dallas Rhodey's code, his fingerprint is enough to get him through the door."

"So what's the point of giving him a code?" Logan asked.

"People with access all have different codes," Bruce explained. "For example, every member of the Avengers' code starts with the letter A. Minnie's code starts with the number 1, and Pepper's code is her name. If you put in a code, the name associated with the code is put in the system."

"So if you just use the fingerprint, the name associated with the fingerprint is in the system?" Peter asked.

"Yup." I nodded.

"Why use Rhodes so much?" he asked and it was Natasha's turn to answer.

"It's a code."

"For who?"

"Rhodes." Logan answered.

"Assuming they drop the records of who comes and goes, Jarvis?"

"On a daily basis Mrs. Banner."

"Right, well, Rhodes' name will come up a lot, they'll be forced to ask him about it. He'll shrug it off as a mistake, but Rhodes is smarter than that. To be friends with Tony as long as he has, he's got to be smarter than that." I explained. "Everyone got their earpieces?" They nodded.

"Coulson, testing."

"Got you loud and clear boss." he said and I smiled.

"Pepper; we good?"

"We're good." she replied.

"Everything's good up here too Min." Clint said. "I'm in your office, Jarvis has every security camera up, it's like the pentagon up here."

"Good to hear it." I told him. "We're stepping out of the elevator now, I'm going to try to approach her, Hawk, I'll need your help with this."

"No problem. Thor and Tony will be down as soon as you guys get off the elevator."

"Good." I said before looking at Bruce. He leaned in and kissed me quickly.

"Jarvis," Natasha said. "Open the doors." The doors slid open making me and Bruce break away from each other.

The ceremony was still happening, a stage with a row of people sitting on it while Norman Osborn sat to the side, away from the people I assumed were members of his teams. We walked in different directions, I took to circling around to the back, keeping my eye on the ceremony going on in front of me. It looked like it was wrapping up as I took my spot in the back, watching everything happening.

"The young girl with dark hair and the white streaks is Rogue." Clint said in my ear.

"She's so young." I muttered.

"Yeah, round the same age as Amanda." Clint replied as he typed something. "Hey Min, how do you make the coffee maker work in here?" I tried not to chuckle out loud as I explained that Jarvis controlled the coffee maker, and to just tell him how strong to make it.

People started to stand and applaud making me realize that the ceremony was over. I walked through the crowd, trying to keep my eye on Rogue when I saw her slip into a bathroom. I smiled lightly to myself, knowing this was perfect timing.

I grabbed two glasses off of a nearby tray, and followed her to the bathroom. The party would be getting started now, which Natasha told me was the perfect cover.

"Congratulations." I said when Rogue came out of the bathroom stall.

"Oh, thank you." she smiled and I smiled hearing her slight southern accent, as I set down one of the glasses near her.

"You must be so excited."

"I guess." she shrugged with a small grin as she started to wash her hands. She was drying them when I stuck my hand out.

"My name is Simone." I said and she hesitated, giving me time to slip my hand into hers, and clap my other hand over it as I shook her hand.

"No, please, I don't-" she paused and looked down at our hands before she lifted her other hand gingerly and touched my skin. "You- You're not..."

"We're more alike than you think." I explained softly.

"I've never met anyone else with the same power." she breathed as I let go of her hand. She let out a small laugh and I smiled gently before I shook my head.

"Sweetheart, it's no coincidence." I said gently. "Do you remember when you answered that add. About the people developing a cure?" she nodded. "And they took your blood?" she nodded again, before she froze and looked at me with horror.

"They- They-"

"They were run by a woman who works with Norman Osborn. She calls herself Leona Hiss, or Madame Hydra. The company was doing the testing under order from Mr. Osborn."

"Buh- but he wouldn't do that, he's proud of me!"

"Yeah, he is proud of you sweetheart. He's proud of you for proving he could change people, the same way he changed me." I said as I moved closer to her. She looked horrified, and a little sick at the same time. I touched her shoulder and she quickly looked at me.

"Why the hell would he want to change you?" she demanded.

"Because I pissed him off." I said softly. "There's a better life for you Anna." I said softly. "You had a better life before."

"Like hell I did. You don't know anything about me!" we both stopped talking as a small group of women walked in. They went into their respective stalls as I lowered my voice.

"I know you used to go to the Xavier school for gifted youngsters. I know that people liked you there, you had a boyfriend." I said softly and she nodded. "You had friends, what happened?"

"We broke up." she said softly.

"Oh sweetie, I know breakups are hard, but you can't let it control who you are." I said softly.

"I didn't have any other choices. They came to me, they asked me to join. What else could I do?" she asked softly and looked at me with a frown.

"It's not too late to pick a side." I whispered to her and she scoffed.

"Oh we're far past that." she said to me strongly. "What am I supposed to do, just call in the X-Men and ask them to come here?"

"No." I said and she shook her head.

"I didn't think so."

"But when you see Logan, he'll probably tell you the same thing." I said softly to her. She looked at me, curiosity swimming in her eyes before she looked away from me, I could see she was processing so I simply put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a small squeeze before I walked out of the bathroom.

"How'd you do?" I heard Natasha ask.

"I think we've got her." I replied as I walked through the crowd, before I felt someone bump into my shoulder.

"Oh excuse me Miss- Minnie?!" the shocked voice of one of the engineers from the third level R&D department asked looking me over.

"Roger, shut up!" I hissed as I pulled him to the side. "Shh. Do not call attention to me." I said to him softly and he looked at me curiously.

"What's going on?" he asked softly.

"What's going on is top secret government information, and you need to keep your mouth shut, do you understand?" I asked and he nodded.

"Minnie? Does this have anything to do with the spare suit upstairs?" he asked and I turned back to look at him.

"Spare suit? What spare suit?"

"_My_ spare suit." a voice behind me said and I turned around to see Rhodey standing there. "Dance with me."

"Excuse me?"

"Well thanks to your loudmouth friend right there, I think you've been made, there's only one other way across the room, and unless you want to draw attention to yourself by running through it..." he shrugged and I nodded before he produced a pair of white silk gloves that would go to just below my elbows. "Dallas sent these along." he explained and I smiled as I slipped them on, and then took his hand. He pulled me onto the dance floor and looked behind my shoulder. "Osborn got a warrant, and confiscated the War Machine suit." he explained to me. "Word is, he's been experimenting on it."

"Glad to see you got our message."

"There's only so many times HAMMER can call you, or show up at your home and work to demand to know why you spend so much time at Stark Tower."

"Why do you spend so much time here?" I questioned and he chuckled.

"_Someone's_ gotta feed the fish. Besides, have you _seen_ the size of Tony's TV's?" he asked and I laughed.

"I bet Norman loved that answer." I replied. He chuckled and shook his head. "What is he doing with the War Machine suit?" I asked softly and his eyes locked on something behind me.

"I'm not sure. He might know how to control it by now, hopefully it won't come to that." he said softly.

"Who is it

"The man himself." he muttered. "He's coming over here and-" At that moment someone walked over and tapped Rhodey's shoulder. He stepped away and I smiled seeing Dallas who swept me into his arms and started to masterfully lead me across the dance floor.

"What's going on?" I asked him softly.

"Well, Norman is making a beeline for the elevator now." he said.

"Clint, you hear that?"

"Yeah I got it Minnie."

"I want to know what floor he gets off on, okay?"

"You got it."

"Tony?" I questioned.

"Yeah Kiddo?"

"Don't call me that, how's the updates?"

"Almost done, why?"

"Because I have a feeling Norman saw me, and if he did, there's a good chance he's going for that suit he took from Rhodes." I replied.

"That's most likely where he's going." Clint replied. "He pushed the button for level 8 R&D."

"Should we have Jarvis shut him down?" I asked.

"I just had Jarvis stop the elevator, I can keep him there all night."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Clint said after a few moments. "He got the doors open."

"This guy is hell bent on starting a fight."

"What's our plan?" Steve asked.

"He's in the stairway." Clint continued to tell us what he was doing.

"Jarvis, lock down level 8!" I heard Tony shout. "What do you mean your controls are being over-ridden? Captain, if Norman wants a fight, we'll give him a fight."

"Screw this; let me and the kid go after him." I heard Logan say.

"Attention honored guests. Tonight you will be asked to perform another act of service for our cause," Norman's voice came in through the PA system. "In the building are several threats, here to try to change all of our progress and all of your hard work. I expect the Avengers to be taken care of in the next hour. To the rest of our guests, please, do not let this inconvenience the party. It will take but a moment."

"He certainly sounds sure of himself." I heard Peter say and I looked around at the chaotic throngs of people who were looking for each other, or trying to get to the exits.

"Dallas, do you see-"

"Right behind you." I jumped and spun around, moving into the outstretched arms of my husband. "I really liked this suit." he sighed as I started to loosen his tie.

"Hey there Minnie." we both looked to see Luke Cage standing there.

"Hey Luke." I smiled. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised huh" he asked.

"It's about as surprising as the fact that you're still Norman's lap dog." I said as Bruce started to move between me and Luke.

"You ready for round two?" Luke asked Bruce darkly who clenched his fists.

"It doesn't have to be like this." he replied and Luke smirked before he threw off his jacket and picked up a table.

"If you think about it, it's the only way it could have ended for the two of us." Luke said before he flung the table at us.

Bruce instantly turned into the Hulk, tearing away the suit, minus the pants; they just tore at the bottoms, up his calves. The table smashed against the Hulk's chest, he had used one of his massive arms to cover me from the incoming, unorthodox projectile.

I moved out from under him, while some people screamed, the other Avengers seemed to see this as the invitation to react. Most of the guests had left, while most of Norman's little army had stayed behind, ready to fight against the Avengers, a few of them looked none too sure about it, but when the Hulk let out a massive roar, they seemed to commit to the fight.

Everyone took their stance, I looked around the room, before my eyes landed on a familiar woman with dark hair.

Her eyes locked with mine and I felt myself clench my fists. I may not be a fighter, but I would be damned if I let that slow me down tonight.

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**_Hope you liked it! Lots of action in the next chapter, which will be out soon! So, keep your eyes peeled (What a disgusting phrase) for the next chapter! _**

**_P.S. Please don't forget to review!_ **


	41. Chapter 41

_**Hey ya'll, I'm not going to waste your time with a long introduction, because in honor of The Avengers coming out in DVD today, I have finished, and not give you, the most action packed chapter I have ever written EVER! I hope you like it! **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own the Avengers on DVD. **_

_**That being said, ENJOY!** _

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When I was learning how to spar Natasha and Clint would gang up on me sometimes, at the time I thought it was over kill, and to be honest, I thought it was a little unfair, but now that I was in a real fight, one that had just resulted in me getting my lip split, while others tried sneaking up on me from behind to help their teammates, I could see why they did that. To help me prepare for the worst.

Clint once told me never to fight without a weapon. Unfortunately I hadn't taken my gloves off since dancing with Rhodey, and because of my dress I hadn't the room to hide any weapons.

"Need a little help?" I heard someone ask, before the person that I was blocking was thrown to the side. I smiled gratefully at Natasha before she nodded behind me. I spun around, slamming my hand into the person's nose in an upward position, he groaned, clutching his face, and Natasha delivered a strong kick to his chest, knocking him off his feet.

"Just like sparring all over again." I laughed and she grinned.

"You know Clint always says never get caught without a weapon."

"Oh I have a weapon; it's just a little hard finding the time to take these stupid gloves off." I said and she nodded, before grabbing one of the gloves and quickly tearing it down the side, I shook it off and grinned at her before pulling the other one off. "Thanks Nat." I said and she nodded.

"Have you seen Tony?"

"Yeah, little busy." Tony's voice said in our communicators. We both looked to the window as Tony went flying by, being chased by what looked like the War Machine suit.

"Looks like Rhodes was right, Norman did learn how to use the suit." I said and Tony let out a dry laugh.

"Minnie, pay attention!" Clint shouted in my earpiece and I turned around, catching the hands of the person who was coming at me. I could feel their energy in my hands, and I let go of one of their hands, swung my fist back and punched them, sending them right across the room.

"Who the hell was that?" I asked as I shook out my hand.

"I don't know, but it looks like you got a strong one." she said as I quickly ducked a blow, and responded by punching the man in the throat as hard as I could.

"You know kiddo I've been thinking. We really should think of a code name for you since you're apparently going to be part of the team." Tony said in my ear.

"I'm not part of the team." I told him. "I'm just making sure this clusterfuck of bad decisions is ended!"

"Minnie, Madame Hydra." Clint said and I turned to see the dark haired woman that had escaped me when a guy had tackled me and tried to use me as a punching bag. My very large green husband took quick offense to that and threw the guy out a window.

"I see her." I muttered back to Clint.

"Captain, on your six!" Natasha shouted to him and he turned around, knocking out the guy that was coming right at him. I could see Thor battling a very large very unstoppable looking man wearing a very large helmet that seemed to be able to withstand a blow from Thor's hammer, which honestly surprised me. When I turned back, Madame Hydra was gone.

"Clint, what have you got for me?"

"Well, your husband is still fighting Luke Cage. Want to give him a hand?"

"Where is he?"

"Looks like their fight moved into the press conference room."

"Logan?"

"On my way." I ran into the hallway and stopped when I saw Logan.

"Hey, little help?" I asked and he looked at me curiously. I held up the ends of my skirt and he nodded before cutting away part of it for me so that the skirt now went to right above my knees. I was happy that I had thought to wear the knee length leggings underneath, even though Dallas said under any normal circumstances if I thought of mentioning something like that, he would disown me.

We made our way down the hall to the press conference room, where Hulk was in the process of throwing Luke Cage across the room. "Minnie." he said when he caught sight of me. "Hurt?" he asked, walking over. He touched the blood that had dried on my chin and I shook my head.

"No, I'm okay. How 'bout you, need some help?"

"Uncrushable." he said and I smiled as I looked over at Luke who was trying to get to his feet.

"Looks like you're having fun trying." I said and he gave me that roguish grin he had given me in the field when I told him to have fun. I grinned and he looked over me at Logan who had kicked Luke back down. Luke looked apprehensive at Logan who was pointing his claws at the 'Uncrushable' man.

"I've got this one." Logan said to us and I nodded.

"Minnie, I could use a little help in here." I heard Natasha say into my earpiece.

"I've got you red." I heard Peter respond and I looked at Logan who was letting Luke get up slowly.

"You sure you've got this?" I asked and Logan nodded. "You ready to go back?" I asked the Hulk who followed me back to the large room where most of the fighting had been contained.

When we got there he let out a deafening roar that shook the glass windows and the floors. I could see Steve look over at me as the Hulk ran off to help Thor, his eyes widened and he threw his shield in my direction as hard as he could.

I took that moment to throw myself to the ground, the shield connected with someone behind me and I turned around as one of the guys I thought I had knocked out earlier fell to the ground. He scrambled up and I grabbed the shield, and swung it like a bat, hitting him in the face with it. He fell to the ground and lay there unmoving, I checked his pulse, and sighed knowing he was alive.

"Clint?" I asked and I heard him groan softly. "What's going on?"

"You guys needed help." he said, though I hardly heard him, my eyes had locked on Madame Hydra who was barking out orders to someone. She turned and strolled out of the room, into the hallway as though she owned the place and this time I followed her, not even realizing I was still holding Steve's shield.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Banner." she said when we were in the hallway.

"Wish I could say the same for you." I replied just as casually.

"This doesn't have to be hard." she said as she walked closer to me.

"Honestly, it's you guys that made this all harder than it needed to me." I said. "We just want things to go back to the way they were."

"Then you're even more naïve then I thought."

"I like to think of it as optimistic." I smiled.

"You know, there are things we can do for each other." she said almost thoughtfully.

"Such as?" I asked. "And uh, fair warning, I'm not really into girls." I said shaking my head.

"You want to know what we did with the DNA of your monster in there," she said slowly. "And we need Dr. Fleischer back." she continued.

"Oh yeah, him; You know he seems pretty comfortable with us. He's been giving us a lot of information; he likes to help out... I really don't see it as a fair trade to be honest." I shrugged and she narrowed her eyes.

"You're lying." she said and I smiled.

"Am I?" I asked. "You should hear some of the things he says about you. He really thought it was amusing when he found out you hadn't killed Nick Fury." her eyes darkened when I said that and her jaw set making me smile. "Oh yeah, he's alive and well. He just had me take over publically so that he could do his thing under the radar." I said, knowing I was winding her up. "Hans, he said that uh, seeing as you and Norman were spending so much... Quality time, together, it really wasn't a surprise that you can't hit a target." With that she took a step towards me, and I stepped back, looking behind me to see where I was. I could see the door to the stairs behind me, and I was happy I had worn flats. This was going to be a close one.

I took off running, and she followed, I threw the door open and ran down the stairs, I could hear her following me. To be honest, I had no idea where I was going, a kick to the back ensured I went down a flight of stairs, I had dropped the shield as I rolled down the stairs, it slid along behind me, when I hit the landing I picked the shield up, and used it to hit Leona into a wall, before I started running down the stairs again.

My knee was throbbing but I knew if I stopped, I'd get thrown down another flight of stairs. I was lucky in the fact that the party was only being held on the sixth floor, so when I hit the basement floor, and I heard Madame Hydra right behind me, I knew exactly where to go.

But not without- I turned and kicked her in the stomach as she came up behind me, making damn sure she was going to follow me.

I punched in a code and pushed through the door to the Arc Reactor and waited, she was right behind me, and when she came into the room, I slammed the door behind me, leaning my back against the door.

"Jarvis, seal the door." I said and I heard the bolts lock behind me.

"This is where you're prepared to die?" Madame Hydra asked as she looked at me.

"I think that's kind of an overreaction. All I did was point out the fact that fucking Norman Osborn seems to have clouded your abilities." I shrugged.

"It was always the plan." she stated as she stepped toward me. I stepped to the side and cleared my throat.

"Minnie, where are you?" I heard Tony ask.

"Screwing Norman was always the plan?" I asked. "Or- was that- Killing me was always the plan?" I asked and she scoffed as I stepped to the side.

"With you alive, the Hulk is untouchable, he is different. Careful. Dead, he makes more mistakes, and we are able to get him on our side." she said simply.

"So what are you going to do? Kill me and leave me under the arc reactor?" I asked, knowing the team could hear me.

"Minnie..." Tony said slowly. "Are you pulling an Iron Monger?"

"If it has to be done." I said, answering Tony's question, and talking to Madame Hydra. "I should warn you though, even if you do kill me, you'll never leave this room alive." I warned her.

"We'll see." she said simply before she closed the distance between us, swinging her arm put to punch me.

I blocked it the way Natasha had shown me, and countered with a knee to her side. She shoved me into the control panel and I looked down at it before I started moving switches and knobs into the highest setting. I pushed away from the control panel and grabbed her by the fist she was swinging at me, and elbowed her in the face with my other arm.

She kneed me in the stomach and threw me to the ground, I rolled over onto my back, and she made a move like she was going to stomp on my chest, I crossed my arms over my chest in an X, blocking her blow, before grabbing her under her knees, and pulling, knocking her onto her ass. I scrambled to my feet, as did she; she grabbed me by the elbow and swung me around, before letting go of me, sending me into the railing next to the arc reactor.

I turned around, using the railing as leverage for me to lift my feet off the ground and push her away with both of my feet, she was back on the ground and I jumped over her, moving the controls into more override positions.

"I can do this." I said into my headset. "Is anyone near the control room?" I asked.

"I am." I heard Steve reply and I groaned softly.

"Steve, I need you to get in there." I said as Madame Hydra jumped back up, and grabbed me by the hair. She slammed me face first into a wall, I elbowed her in the face, sending her back a few feet before I turned around, and using a move Natasha had taught me, I ran at her, putting one foot on her semi bent knee, I used the force, stepped up and kicked her in the face, before jumping to the side in a single motion. "Ow, ow, ow." I muttered, as my knee screamed in protest.

"I'm here Minnie." Steve said in my communicator. "What do you need?"

"Find the panels labeled "Main Arc Reactor"."

"Okay."

"Minnie, what you're about to do-"

"I know Tony." I said. "But I really don't have any other choice."

"Sure you do, wait for Clint to get down there, and let him take care of that bitch." he protested.

"She took everything from me Tony." I said as she climbed to her feet, and kicked me in the knee. I let out a small scream of pain as I fell to the ground. "It has to be me." I hissed, holding my knee. She took the opportunity to kick me in the face. I could hear Tony explaining to Steve what he had to do.

"What's about to happen?" I heard Clint ask.

"Minnie, where are you, I'll come help." I heard Peter say.

"It's no use bug boy, she's sealed herself in." Tony said. I caught her leg as she went to kick me in the chest, and held on as she tried to pull it back. I could feel warm fluid in my mouth when I coughed; she must have broken one of my ribs at some point. I punched her, once in the stomach, and the other time in her kidney, as I stood up, and limped toward the Arc Reactor. I could see Steve's shield lying on the floor, not far from where I was.

"Give up yet?" Madame Hydra asked and I grinned, before spitting my own blood on the ground.

"Why? You getting tired?" I asked before blocking a blow from her. She used her force to knock my head into the bar of the railing. I groaned, feeling her hit me once or twice while I was down, but I didn't really perceive it as I tried to blink away the spots in my eyes. My teammates voices in my ears were muffled, I shook my head, trying to focus.

_"-Ready-" _

_"-Minnie-" _

_"-Big Guy-" _

"Are you ready Steve?" I asked.

"Minnie, Stark told me what could happen, are you sure-"

"Don't make me quote Star Trek right now." I said with a small grin as I punched at Leona, she blocked my punch, and elbowed me in the face, I could feel my nose break, but I took the opportunity to punch her in the throat, she shoved me onto the ground, I corrected how I fell, both of my hands hit the ground over my shoulders, as she came at me, I lifted me legs up, and pushed them into her, and swung my legs up, over me as if I were going to go into the plow pose.

The leverage of me on the ground swung her over me, and into the ground. I rolled over to the shield and picked it up before I went to the ladder on the other side of the room, leading up to the catwalk I knew Tony sometimes liked to sit on and stare at the Arc.

He said it helped him clear his mind, looking into the Arc Reactor like that. When I got onto the catwalk I wasn't surprised to see her right behind me, I backed up until we were right over the Arc Reactor, knowing if I didn't plan this right, she could very well succeed at her mission. She made the first move, kicking me in the knee, yet again; I fell to the metal floor of the catwalk making it swing slightly.

"Minnie, what's going on?" I heard Steve ask.

"Nothing I can't handle Cap." I groaned.

"I'm coming down there." I heard Natasha declare.

"I've got it." I tried to insist, but it was pointless for her to come down, the door was sealed.

The catwalk swung again as Leona dragged me up by the hair and punched me.

"I have been training my entire life." she said to me. "You get a few lessons from the Black Widow and you think you can take me on?" she questioned.

"I don't really know what I thought." I said as I coughed up some more blood, it spilled down my lips and chin, probably looking pretty disgusting. I wiped it away with the back of my hand, most likely just smearing it.

She stood above me and I looked at her for a moment before I grabbed her ankle. I could feel myself getting an energy boost, and when she realized what I was doing, she kicked me pretty hardly, and stomped on my shoulder, making me let go. It was enough for me though, I held onto the bars on the catwalk, and jumped up, kicking her in the chin hardly.

"You know," she said as she looked up at me. "If it weren't for me, you'd be dead now."

"How do you figure that one?" I asked.

"Easy. If it weren't for the serum that turned you into what you are now, you'd have been killed when Norman sent out the Abomination."

"Why side with him Leona?" I asked as I panted. "You're obviously smart, and cunning. Why side with that moron?"

"Funding." she said simply and I let out a small laugh, which made me gasp, holding my ribs, I fell to my knees, coughing.

"Steve." I said into my earpiece.

"I'm here." he said.

Leona had turned around, letting me jump up, climb up onto the hand railing, and hold onto the bars screwing the walkway into the ceiling. I wrapped my legs around her, and used what force I had left to knock her off of the catwalk, and into the arc reactor.

"_Now Steve_!" I shouted as she fell. I picked up his shield and used it to block the force of the overloading Arc Reactor, the force of which sent me off of the catwalk, I used it to cover my side that was exposed to the explosion, the force of which sent me across the room, into the wall, and onto the ground, in a huddled, bruised, bloody mess.

* * *

"We have no fight with you." Thor said to the large man wearing the helmet. The man laughed as he seemed to absorb Thor's punch, before swinging his fist back, and punching the Asgardian god in the face.

Thor fell to the ground, before holding his hand out, catching Mjölnir, before swinging his mighty hammer into the large man's stomach. The man stumbled back, before taking another step towards Thor, only to pause when he heard a loud roar. Both he and Thor looked as the Hulk came over to the two of them, wasting no time in slamming his fist into the man's side. He flew back into the wall, part of it breaking under the massive man's weight, he laughed darkly as he stood up, looking between the God of Thunder and the Hulk who stood there, ready to fight.

Thor was standing near the windows, and as the large man started running towards the Hulk, Thor took the opportunity to throw Mjölnir at the window. It shattered easily, and Mjölnir flew back to Thor, who used it to summon lightning to his hammer, before pointing it at the large man the Hulk was now trying to push back. The lightning seemed to have a very little effect on him.

He had started running at the Hulk, who tried to stop the man with his shoulder, the man continued to push against the Hulk, effectively sliding him back inch by inch, the Hulk eyed him slightly as Thor tried shocking the man with lightning, however he seemed to realize it had no effect. The Hulk looked at the man, and something seemed to click, he turned his body slightly, and using every amount of energy he had he started to push the man in the same direction.

At first it was hard, getting him to change direction, but when he did, he didn't stop, the Hulk was able to shove him right through a broken window. "Good work Banner." Thor panted. He looked up as he sat Tony flying by the window backwards, shooting his repulsar at the War Machine armor that was flying by. Another suit of armor went chasing behind the War Machine armor, also shooting their repulsars.

"Hey, Point Break, how about one of those power boosts?" Tony asked in Thor's earpiece. Thor pointed Mjölnir at the figure of Tony Stark flying by and hit him easily with a large bolt of lightning. He could see Iron Man slow down slightly, and lose some altitude, making Hulk grow uneasy, but when the lightning stopped, Tony held up both his repulsars and shot at the War Machine suit.

He could hear what Steve and Minnie were saying to each other, and he juggled fighting Norman Osborn and explaining to Steve, in ways the old man could understand how to start the overload for the arc reactor, which he knew was what Minnie wanted. Just like he knew that if it was done, it could very well kill her, if she had no cover. He hoped she would get behind the control panel, not that that would necessarily be enough, but it would give them a better chance of helping.

He turned back to what he was doing, Norman was using the huge machine gun on the War Machine suit to shoot at Rhodey who had borrowed the Mark VIIII, Tony himself was in the Mark X, trying to blast Norman out of the air.

"Thor, I've got an idea, you may want to get out of the way." Tony said before flying over to the Hulk who stared down at him. "Hey there big guy, little help?" he asked and the Hulk grinned, understanding what Tony wanted. "Rhodey, come in check out this party. We even got a DJ, you probably remember him, he was around last time you suited up." Tony said before backing up, giving Rhodey enough room to fly through the open window, Norman hot on his tail, the older guy tried to stop the suit when he saw the Hulk waiting there for him, but the large green creature was able to reach out and pluck him from the air, before throwing him into the room. "Thanks big guy." Tony said as Norman's older semi outdated suit started flickering.

Tony walked over to Norman, as did Rhodey who held out the repulsars, pointing them at Norman who stopped moving while Tony knelt down and pulled the Arc Reactor from the front of the suit. As he did, the building started to shake before the lights went out.

"It's an earthquake!" someone shouted and Tony shook his head.

"Tony, I'm outside the room to the arc reactor, what's the code to get in?" Natasha asked in his ear.

"1-8-5-4." he replied. "Is there light under the door?"

"No."

"Open it." he said before looking at the Hulk who was breathing heavily and looking around the room. "Hey big guy," he said when he noticed most of the fighting had stopped. The Hulk looked at him questioningly. "We're gonna need Bruce back."

"What happened?" Logan asked. "What did she do?"

"She overloaded the arc reactor." Clint said answering Logan's question.

"The what?" Logan asked.

"The arc reactor, it's what's powering this entire building, she overloaded it." Peter said as he walked over. "I'll keep an eye on our friend here."

"Me too Tony. Don't worry about him, you guys go see if Minnie's okay." Rhodey said as the Hulk shrank back down to his normal size, and looked around.

"No time to explain, down to the basement." Tony said as Bruce held up the shredded remnants of his pants. He followed Tony, knowing better than to question him when he used that tone of voice.

"Hey Doc, I grabbed you this, it was in Minnie's office." Clint said tossing Bruce a backpack off of a bar.

"Backup energy is now running." Jarvis said as the lights flickered on. The elevator pulled up to their floor and they stepped inside, everyone looked the other way while Bruce quickly pulled on the pants from in the backpack, and slipped his feet into the slip on shoes.

Because the building was running on backup power the elevator was running particularly slow. Minnie had kept an emergency backpack everywhere, she said it was for the nights that he decided to sleep at Stark Tower, but he knew it was for moments like this. As he pulled the shirt on, he felt a pair of spare glasses in the breast pocket.

He buttoned it up while the elevator slowed to a stop, and then the door opened.

* * *

**_Oh boy, what's gonna happen next?! _**

**_Please don't forget to review!_**


	42. Chapter 42

_**Hey ya'll. I couldn't just leave you with a cliffhanger like that for too long. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm gonna say, we're getting pretty close to the end now. But don't dwell on that, just enjoy this chapter! P.s. I have a job interview today! Wish me luck! **_

_**Disclaimer: I own the Hulk... Bobble head.** _

* * *

They moved down the hallway, Bruce feeling a rush of déjà vu, the same hallway he had walked down with Tony and Pepper the first time he had met Minnie. They stopped at the same door, this time it was open, and they walked through the door to see Steve and Natasha kneeling down next to the beat up, unconscious form of his wife.

Bruce felt his heart stop as he moved forward, Natasha looked up, tears in her eyes.

Tears.

He had seen tears in Natasha's eyes only once, and they had been from fear.

This time it was different.

She moved away and he paused as he took in the sight of her. Her hair was no longer in the strangely perfect messy knot Dallas had done it up in before they left, but rather everywhere, some of it looked singed, and it didn't have its usual light red color, but it looked far darker, he realized as he knelt down it was from a cut along her hairline.

She had a broken nose, which probably attributed to the amount of blood covering the bottom of her face, it looked like she had tried to wipe some of it away, but only smeared it to the side, her face was pale due to blood loss which made the blood look that much brighter. Her once perfect floor length teal dress was now cut to above her knees, and the one that had always given her problems was swollen, even under her knee length leggings he could see that. He gingerly rolled up the legging and shut his eyes, she would need knee surgery for sure.

"Pepper, call an ambulance," Tony was saying somewhere behind him, be he didn't pay any attention, choosing instead to check her pulse.

"She's alive." he breathed in disbelief and relief but frowned when he saw she wasn't breathing. He opened her mouth, checking her airways, before tilting her head back, trying to make it easier for her to breathe. When she wasn't responsive he started to do CPR. After the third time of breathing into her mouth she gasped, coughing, he moved away as she rolled to her side, coughing up blood. She opened her eyes and Bruce let out a small laugh of relief as he cupped her face. She stared up at him for a moment before shutting her eyes again, though continued to breathe.

"I can't check to see if she had a neck or back wound." Bruce said as he looked up at Tony.

"Tony, SHIELD is here with a medical helicopter." Pepper said.

"Send them to the basement in my elevator, tell Jarvis no stops except the basement."

"What happened Tony?"

"Tell you later." he said simply, as he turned and looked at the arc reactor. "This is going to be a bitch to clean up." he said and Steve shot him a look.

"Hey Swan Lake, why don't you go wait for the paramedics, tell them which room we're in." Tony said over his shoulder to Logan who rolled his eyes but walked out of the room. Natasha was sitting on the other side of Minnie while Steve picked up his shield from the ground next to where she lay. He stared down at it, and then at Minnie who was breathing normally, her husband was brushing the hair from her face, and trying to wipe the blood off of her face with the sleeve of his shirt. Natasha gently touched Bruce's arm and he looked up, to be met with a handkerchief neither men knew where it came from, but Bruce didn't ask, he just accepted it and used it to try to wipe blood and grime from his wife's face.

"Excuse us Dr. Banner." one of the paramedics said as they walked into the room, followed by Logan. Bruce jumped up but stayed close by as they wrapped Minnie's neck in a brace and strapped her down to a flat board, in case she had a back injury, then put the flat board onto the stretcher.

They took her to the elevator and brought her upstairs, Tony and Bruce insisted on squeezing into the elevator with them, when they got upstairs they walked through the mobs of people, some reporters, some were the guests from before, some were police and some were members of Norman's army. They got to a SHIELD helicopter where Agent Coulson was waiting. He winced upon seeing Minnie's condition, and sighed to himself.

"She'll be taken to our facility in Times Square." he told Tony before looking at Bruce. "He's with her!" he called to the doctors, and gave Bruce a small nod, which Bruce returned before climbing into the helicopter with her.

"I thought you closed everywhere down." Tony said and Phil shook his head.

"We're reopening." he said. "We had guards in the major places keeping HAMMER and HYDRA out."

"Tony!" he turned around to see Pepper running to him. He caught her as she threw her arms around him, ignoring the fact that he was still in the suit, sans helmet, he leaned down and kissed her deeply, the two of them watched as the helicopter flew away, then she looked at him.

* * *

I could hear shouting, and someone walking. I felt a pressure on my side get removed and tossed to the side with a clatter as someone tried to speak to me, and then there was nothing. The next thing I remember reminded me of the time I nearly drowned when I was in fifth grade.

I had been rough housing with my friend in the community pool one hot July afternoon, and I hit my head on the pool ladder. I remember being disoriented, and not able to figure out which way was up, and which was down. I must have ingested a bunch of water because when I woke up I was rolling to the side, coughing up water, my dad kneeling next to me, drenched to the bone, even though he hadn't planned on going in the water.

I looked back up, and instead of my father I saw Bruce kneeling above me, his face smeared with blood, instead of water, I could feel his hand on the side of my face before I blacked out again.

Things were loud, and bright and blurry. I could feel someone shoving something down my throat, I felt my body react to it, and someone hold me still, people were calling for things, I couldn't make out words, just panicked, loud, frantic voices.

Someone put something over my nose and instructed me to breathe. I blacked out again.

* * *

"Dr. Banner," Bruce looked up to the waiting room door. He had been sent there as soon as they got there, and was promised he would be informed when she was out of surgery. He had been left there, deserted to wait. Nick Fury stood in the doorway, standing next to him, Bruce could hardly believe was the President.

"Director Fury," Bruce stood up and shook his hand, before looking at the President. Two Secret Service men waited outside. "Mr. President." he said as he shook Todd Halloran's hand.

"Dr. Banner," the President smiled at him. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Thanks." Bruce said before looking at Nick Fury. "Any word?"

"She's still in surgery Dr. Banner. She took quite the beating."

"Yeah." he said softly.

"From what I hear she dished it out pretty well too. Maybe she's more like her father then we all thought." Fury said and Bruce nodded slightly.

"Are you here to arrest us?" he asked looking at the president. "Because I don't think that'll work out the way you want it to." he said simply making the president raise his eyebrows.

"No, Dr. Banner, why would you think that?" he asked with a small laugh. "No, uh, actually, I'm just- I know how hard it is, being sent to a waiting room." President Halloran said. Bruce stared at him blankly and the President offered him a small smile before he turned and opened the door, an assistant stood there holding two cups of coffee in her hand. "Tea, right?" President Halloran asked as he held out one of the cups.

"Thank you." Bruce said as he accepted the cup from the president. He sat back down and the president took a seat, he cautiously looked Bruce over as he sat there, sipping the black tea.

The waiting room was quiet, that is until of course, Tony got there. "Oh hey, look at that." he said as he walked into the waiting room. "You haven't Hulked out and given them a reason to work faster huh?" Tony asked as he plopped down in the seat next to Bruce who looked to the side at his annoying friend.

"Yeah, that'll work."

"Worked in Virginia."

"Virginia was an entirely different set of circumstances." Bruce said and Tony gave him a slight smile before clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Pepper's taking care of the press. She'll be up in a minute; rest of the team is on their way here too."

"Has anyone called the girls?"

"Figured it'd be better for you to do. Y'know, when your wife gets out of surgery." Tony shrugged and Bruce nodded. The room was silent for a moment before Tony cleared his throat. "So, anyone going to mention the elephant in the room? Because I may wear red, but I lean towards blue personally. Especially when voting."

"Tony-"

"What? It's true. Besides, isn't this the guy who approved all of those legislations and bills and everything for Norman to do what he did. Tell me he's waiting for the entire team to get here so he can grovel, because that I'd like to see."

"Mr. Stark, when the initiative was placed before me it was completely different. After I signed it, they rewrote it, changing things around; I never would have done what they did."

"Never would have stopped it either apparently." Tony said with a raised eyebrow before leaning back in his seat. A moment later Pepper came walking in after the secret service men looked through her bag.

"Tony why are there people- Oh, Mr. President," she said looking surprised. "It's an honor to meet you sir." she said as she shook his hand.

"You as well Mrs. Stark." he replied. She smiled and then turned to Tony.

"What is the president doing here?" she hissed to him frantically.

"He's here to grovel." he replied. She rolled her eyes before she moved over to Bruce who stood up and she touched his arm gently before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"She's going to be okay Bruce." she said softly in his ear and his hug tightened slightly before he let go of her.

"Thank you Pepper." he said softly and she smiled at him warmly.

"Dallas is on his way."

"Where was he the entire time?"

"As soon as the fighting broke out he was getting people out of the building." Pepper explained.

"Never let it be said that little ball of energy doesn't know how to do the right thing, and not just pick the right outfits." Tony said simply and Bruce cracked a small smile as he sat back down.

About half an hour later the entire team was there; Tony had of course introduced Steve to the president as the man who allowed him to become Captain Great White North for a few months, which Steve rolled his eyes at and just told the president it was an honor to meet him. Peter Parker instantly went to talk to the president about something having to do with Norman Osborn while Steve went and sat down next to Bruce.

"How did you get to her so fast?" Bruce asked and Steve looked at him questioningly. "Tony, he told me you were in the control room, but when we got downstairs you were down there already."

"As soon as I hit the button, I took the elevator."

"The elevator was out of service until the backup energy kicked in."

"The cables weren't out of service." Steve said and Bruce stared back at him.

"You _slid_ down the _cables_?" he asked blankly.

"It's a lot like zip lining." Steve said with a sheepish grin. Bruce let out a small laugh as he shook his head.

"Thank you." Bruce said softly and Steve looked at him curiously. "Your shield, it saved her life."

"I didn't even notice it was gone." he said with a small grin. "She'll be okay. They're good doctors here."

"They got you out of the ice okay didn't they?" Bruce asked softly and Steve nodded.

"You should've seen some of the things they dealt with when you two were gone." Steve said and Bruce smiled gently.

"I'd like you to know," the president said suddenly. "After the events that happened in Canada and with Norman Osborn coming to me to gloat about it, Director Fury came to me and explained everything to me. I've started shutting down government funding to HAMMER, and Norman Osborn was arrested, as some of you know." he looked at Bruce who straightened up slightly. "We've made a mistake, I know that now. And I'm doing what I can to fix it." he said and Bruce nodded before finishing off his tea.

"Look, you're not getting any political points in here." Logan said and Tony looked semi surprised and slightly pleased. "We don't need a speech; we need to know how our friend is doing, so unless you have something you could be doing to be more helpful, maybe you should take a hike." Everyone stared at the two, the president obviously wasn't used to being talked to like that, and Logan obviously didn't want him there anymore, not that anyone really did.

"Director Fury, I'll be in touch." President Halloran said and Director Fury stood up.

"I'll walk you out Mr. President." he said as he followed after the commander in chief.

"Well, Swan Lake, gotta say, I didn't think you had it in you." Tony grinned and Logan rolled his eyes.

"I hate hospitals." Clint was muttering to Natasha about a good hour and a half later. They still hadn't heard anything, but one by one the Avengers were taken to see a doctor, Steve had to have a few cuts cleaned up, but aside from that and exhaustion, he was alright.

Natasha had to have a brace put on her wrist, and Clint needed stitches, as well as having a bruised rib looked at, and Peter had a bruised bone in his shoulder, but aside from that, everyone was fine. Dallas had gotten there and just sat around sulking, it was the quietest anyone had ever seen him, including Pepper and Tony who had seen him after Minnie and Bruce had gone to Maine.

"I'm going to get a coffee." Tony said suddenly as he stood up. "Anyone want anything?" Looking around the room at the team he decided that the lack of answers was most likely a no, Pepper was resting her head on Thor's shoulder, looking puny next to the large god, both of whom were sleeping. Logan was sitting with his feet on a coffee table, Peter had fallen asleep, and Steve looked very close to sleep, Clint was slid very low in his seat next to Natasha who had been staring at the same spot in the carpet for the past half hour.

Bruce was sitting a few seats away from Dallas, he hadn't said a word in the hour and a half, he just sat there, his elbows resting on his knees, and his fingers laced together as he stared at the floor, almost like he was praying. When Tony left the room Dallas got up and moved next to Bruce who hardly looked up.

"She's going to be okay Brucie." Dallas said softly, not that anyone paid any attention. Bruce let out a small sigh and then looked at Dallas. Dallas put his hand on Bruce's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "It'd take more than an explosion to keep her down." he said and Bruce let out a small laugh, before nodding as he ran his hands over his face.

"She's too stubborn to let something like this keep her down for too long huh?" he asked and Dallas nodded.

"She's too stubborn to let something keep her away from you this long." he said softly to Bruce. "Why do you think she turned into the little warrior princess? I know you guys were having problems, because of the no touching thing, but through it all, the both of you obviously love each other more than the other realizes, which is stupid because you've been married for almost four years now." he said and Bruce nodded.

"I know." he said. He looked up at the door as a doctor walked by and let out a long sigh. "Why won't they tell us anything?"

"Well if they stopped to tell us everything, there'd be no time to work on our little red headed mess." Dallas joked and Bruce let out a long sigh before Tony walked back into the room holding a cup of crappy vending machine coffee.

"Ahhh." he said sarcastically as he drained the Styrofoam cup. The door opened behind him and he jumped, turning around.

"Uh... Mr. Banner?" the young blonde haired doctor who looked like a female Doogie Howser asked looking at her clipboard. "Oh no, wait, sorry, Dr. Banner?" she looked up from behind a huge pair of coke bottle glasses that made her eyes look bigger than they were.

"Yeah?" Bruce asked as he stood up.

"Your wife is really, really lucky to be alive. She's out of surgery and uh- Oh-" she was startled by Tony grabbing the chart and looking it over.

"Tony." Bruce sighed, before doing the same thing to him. Tony shot him a look, but smiled slightly all the same.

"You, uh, that is, family can see her."

"They are family." Bruce said instantly.

"_All of them?"_ the timid young doctor asked and Bruce nodded. "Okay, uh, follow me." she said.

Dallas shook Thor and Pepper awake while Logan got up Peter. Steve had stood up when Bruce did, and Natasha and Clint were ready to bolt out the door and go tearing through every room until they found her. Clint had even offered to do so, but Steve just told him to sit down, which Bruce agreed to. The last thing anyone in the hospital wanted was Clint and Natasha tearing into a surgery room.

They all followed the young doctor to a room and she smiled up at them all. "One at a time please." she said and everyone nodded as she walked away.

"Go ahead buddy." Tony said to Bruce who gave him a small smile and then walked into the room. A nurse was checking her vitals and looked up at Bruce as he walked in.

"She's awake, but she's still pretty drugged up." she said softly to him.

"Thank you." he said as she left the room. He walked over to the bed and she looked up at him, her eyes were bleary, though she smiled as he sat down. "How're you feeling?" he asked softly and she sighed, waving her hand in front of her.

"Oh you know," she said, her speech slightly slurred from the morphine and whatever else they had her on. Bruce made a mental note to remember his glasses so he could check later. "Like I got my ass kicked." she said and he smiled gently.

"Yeah, well you did some ass kicking yourself I hear." he said and she scoffed.

"Nothing like how you kick ass," she said, looking proud of him. "But I kicked her ass into the arc reactor."

"I saw." he said and she nodded, then looked around.

"Baby are we dead?" she asked and he laughed.

"No."

"Oh good. I still want to go to Paris."

"I know you do." he said as he gently took her hand. She smiled and gave his hand a tight squeeze, before letting go. "Honey, I'm... I'm so sorry I let this happen."

"Babe, you didn't _let_ anything happen." she said, even in her drugged state. "It just _happened_. And now it's over. It _is_ over, right?"

"Yeah."

"And _we_ won?"

"Of course."

"Oh good." she sighed. "Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked and he nodded. "The doctor said sleep will help the pain."

"Where do you hurt?" he asked as he sat on the side of the bed.

"My knee mostly." she said and he drew back the blanket slightly to see the thick bandage wrapped around her knee. He leaned down and gently kissed the top of the bandage, his thumbs gently brushing the exposed skin above the bandage making her smile. "My head hurts too baby." she said and he looked at the cut on her head, and noticed they had stitched it up, she had a thin layer of gauze wrapped around her head to keep the stitches covered. He kissed the top of it and then kissed her nose where she had a splint for her broken nose. She tilted her face up, capturing his lips, at first it was fine, just a kiss, but then he felt her absorbing energy, he gently broke away from her and she looked up at him, looking a little more aware. "I'm sorry." she said and he shook his head before he kissed her again gently.

"Don't be." he said and then kissed the top of her head. "Everyone is here, do you want to see them?" he asked and she smiled hesitantly. "I can have them leave." she nodded and he nodded as he got up and went to the door, slipping outside of it.

"She's asleep." Bruce said to the rest of the team."

"That's fine, we'll come back tomorrow." Pepper said as she started to usher everyone out. "Bruce are you coming?"

"I'm going to stay here." he said and Pepper sighed, but knew there was no changing his mind.

Dallas had hung back, and looked at Bruce as the rest of the team left. He held the door open and Dallas went into the room. He stayed for about ten minutes and then left, Bruce sat in the chair next to Minnie while she slept, until he himself fell asleep in what looked like the most uncomfortable position ever.

* * *

**_Hope you enjoyed the chapter! _**

**_Please don't forget to review!_ **


	43. Chapter 43

**_Hey ya'll, here's chapter 43, I hope you like it! _**

**_I don't own the Avengers. Le Sigh..._**

* * *

I had been in the hospital for four days when there was a light knock on my door. The door opened and I looked up to see the last person I expected to see. "Hey." Betty said as she walked in, holding the hand of a well dressed young boy.

"Hi." I smiled at her, the young boy was holding a bouquet of sunflowers. "Who's this?"

"This is Joshuah." she said as she put her hand on Joshuah's shoulder.

"Hey there Joshuah." I smiled at him and he ducked behind his mom's skirt.

"Josh, say hi." Betty smiled at the shy young boy before looking at me. "How are you doing?"

"Oh you know," I smiled gently. "I can't walk to the bathroom without someone's help, but I get the awesome hospital drugs." I shrugged and winced slightly at the movement.

"Josh, go give Minnie the flowers." Betty said and Josh walked over to me shyly, before holding out the flowers.

"Thank you Joshuah." I smiled at him. He smiled at me before running back to his mom and throwing his arms around her legs.

"He's really shy." Betty said with a small laugh.

"We should introduce him to my Kayla, she'd talk the shyness right out of him." I said and Betty chuckled. "What are you doing here Betty?" I asked and she sighed before gesturing to a chair. I nodded and she sat down, before looking at me.

"Tony called me." she said and I nodded. "He told me about what happened to you."

"He thinks you can help find the cure." I said and she shrugged.

"He wants to bring me in on the project." she said and I nodded.

"Do you think you can do it?"

"I think I can try." she said and I nodded.

"I guess that's all anyone can do." I said and she nodded.

"Can I-" she stopped and smiled as she looked down. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine." I said as I pulled my gloves I had Dallas bring me off. She stood up and walked over, I let her take my hand and a moment later she pulled away, before going to sit in the chair next to my bed. "I have a few friends who have healing powers. Sometimes they help me out a little. I had a pretty badly broken nose." I touched my nose and then smiled looking at her. "Pretty bad cut on my head as well. I've never seen Bruce so upset... Well. You know what I mean."

"I'm a little surprised he's not here." she smiled and I chuckled.

"He's hardly left. I finally sent him back to the mansion for a shower and a shave." she smiled and sat down on the side of my bed.

"Minnie, what's it like?"

"What?" I asked.

"This," she gestured to my hands, and then sighed. "Everything."

"Loaded question." I sighed. "Uh, well... Huh." I laughed lightly. "When I touch someone, and they're normal, like you, I feel this warm, almost like, pins and needles feeling going through my hands, and up my arms. When they're different, like when I touch Logan, he's got the healing power, if I touch him and I'm hurt, I feel that same feeling right around wherever is injured."

"So you don't just take energy, but their powers as well?"

"Yeah."

"Even Bruce-"

"No no, nothing like that." I chuckled. "No, the way my daughter Amanda described it, Bruce is a mutate, not a mutant." I explained. "His condition was created, he wasn't born with the..." I trailed off looking as Josh. "The Other Guy." I explained.

"He knows." she said softly. "He's seen him on the news."

"Of course." I said softly.

"So, you have another-"

"Oh, no, no, we took her in. She's a mutant; she was kicked out of her home because of it." I explained as I waved my hand.

"Hey," Betty and I both looked up at Bruce walked in. He paused seeing Betty and smiled gently at her. "How are you?" he asked as she stood up. She gave him a light hug, before he moved over to me and kissed me quickly. "How are you feeling?" he asked me and I smiled.

"I'm feeling like if I don't get out of this hospital room and away from SHIELD captivity, I'm going to snap and drain the next nurse to come in here wanting to check my heart rate." I said and he laughed lightly.

"Well, it's good to see you're back to normal." he said and I nodded as he wrapped his arm around me. "Feeling any pain?"

"Not so much." I said and he shot me a look. "In my knee mostly." I sighed.

"They say you're going to need some physical therapy." he said and I sighed darkly. "But, if you get through today, they also say you can go home tomorrow."

"Home?" I asked and he nodded. "Home as in our fabulous apartment right underneath Dallas and Felipe's fabulous apartment?"

"As much as Tony is trying to get us to move into the tower, yes, that home." he nodded and I sighed gently. "What?"

"It'll be good to be home." I said looking up at him and he smiled.

"The girls will love having you home." he said and I grinned. Tony and Bruce had gone to pick the girls up from Xaviers two days into my hospital stay.

"What's been going on with SHIELD and everything?" I asked as he rested his hand on my knee, over the hospital blankets of course, and then looked at Betty who was trying to get Joshuah into a coat.

"You leaving Betty?" he asked and she nodded.

"I have to go drop Josh off with his dad and then check in at Stark Tower." she said and he nodded. "It was good to see you Bruce." she said as she put her hand on his arm, and then looked at me. "I'll see you later Minnie."

"Bye." I said waving to her slightly. When she left I looked up at him and he raised his eyebrows. "You couldn't find another cellular biologist?" I asked and he sighed.

"You know she's one of the best in her field."

"Yes, and she's also your ex-girlfriend."

"She helped with that... Other thing." he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well that could have benefited her as well." I said and he rolled his eyes. "Don't think Jarvis didn't tell me." I said pointedly and he sighed as he sat down on the side of my bed.

"Yeah well I hope he told you the whole story." he said and I nodded.

"He did."

"Good." he replied as he took my gloved hand in his. He pulled my glove off and I sat up, trying to pull my hand away as he ran his hand over it. "With her help," he said. "Maybe soon, we'll be able to hold hands without worrying." he said before slowly letting go of my hand. I smiled and he leaned forward, gently kissing me. "Besides, what about me screams cheater to you?" he asked and I laughed gently before his phone rang. He sighed and looked down at it. I recognized the Iron Man ringtone, Tony had given everyone new phones to make up for the ones they had to destroy while they were on the run.

"Answer it." I sighed and Bruce nodded as he stood up and answered the phone. He moved out to the hall and I turned on the TV in the room, trying to concentrate on the news, before I flipped through the channels, before settling on an episode of Cupcake Wars. What I really needed was something mindless. "Hey, honey, I'm really sorry, but I've got to go." Bruce said when he walked back into the room. "Tony needs me at the tower, and, well, you know how he can be." he sighed and I smiled.

"Don't worry about it, go. I'll be fine. Just promise you'll get me the hell out of here tomorrow." I said and he nodded as he grinned.

"Anything you want me to bring you to wear tomorrow?" he asked and I shot him a look. "I'll ask Dallas." he nodded and I laughed as he left.

* * *

Later that night I decided not to ring the nurse to help me get to the bathroom, and rather try doing it myself. It was so embarrassing to have to have one of them come in every night to help, I hated it. So as I slipped out of bed, my bare feet hit the cold hospital floor, I recoiled slightly, before putting them back on the floor. I held onto my IV pole with one hand and the bed with the other as I tried not to put too much pressure on my knee.

I held to the bed as far as I could to the bathroom, and tried to put a little pressure on my knee, yelping slightly as I did. I tried to put all my pressure on my other leg and the IV pole, but by the time I got to the bathroom I was exhausted, and my knee was killing me. When I got out of the bathroom I was obviously facing a challenge. Even if I decided to call a nurse, the button was all the way back at the bed, and if I made it back to the bed, that would render my dilemma of needing a nurse moot.

I sighed as I started to move towards the bed when the door opened. I looked at the door slightly startled as Natasha walked in, looked at the bed, and then looked around the room, before she spotted me. She sighed before walking over to me and wrapped her arm around my waist.

"Put your weight on me." she ordered and I did as she helped me back to the bed. "You shouldn't try to rush it." she said and I sighed as I laid back on the pillows.

"I just feel so useless Natasha." I said. "I can't even make it to the bathroom without a nurse helping me. I just thought, Bruce said I might be able to go home tomorrow, and I thought..."

"I know." Natasha said softly and I looked at her curiously as she looked around the room. "I've been stuck in hospital rooms before."

"Rough missions?" I asked and she shook her head.

"No. Well, yes, but before then. When I was Russian." she said and I looked at her curiously. She talked about her past so rarely I couldn't help but wonder what was bringing this on. I stayed silent, letting her decide to talk, she told me about how she had been experimented on as a child and into her teenage years.

How they had wiped her mind and imprinted entirely new backgrounds so she could get close to her targets, before a phrase or a word would be uttered and she'd be forced to kill them. She told me a lot of things, things I never could have imagined, how she was trained, how the experimenting had left her sterile. As she told me all this I watched her.

The way she stared at a place in the wall behind me, before turning her eyes to mine. "I wasn't allowed to make friends growing up." she said to me and I smiled lightly. "I know that you're my boss and-"

"Natasha I'm not your boss." I said shaking my head and she nodded.

"Well, until Nick Fury officially takes the place as the head of SHIELD again, you are still the director." she explained.

"Not that I don't appreciate you telling me all of this." I said to her and she nodded. "But why did you decide to tell me now?" I asked and she looked down before giving me a small almost smile.

"I didn't want you to read it in my file, or hear it from anyone else." she said and I looked at her curiously. "I trust you." she said and I smiled.

"I've always trusted you Natasha. Ever since I was that hyperactive intern eating skittles and drinking three red bulls a day. Even after I found out you worked for SHIELD." She smiled at that and I laughed. "They say you were the first one to find me." I said and she nodded.

"Stark gave me the go to unseal the room when I said there was no light coming from under the door." she explained.

"Thanks." I said.

"I have to say I'm impressed." she said. "To take out Leona Hiss like that, it's impressive."

"Yeah well, you trained me." I pointed out. "I was just... I know everyone thinks I'm reckless." I said and she shook her head. "No, they do. They all tried to convince me not to do it, and if the Hulk had known what I was doing, he never would have let me out of his sight, but, I did it anyway. All I could think about was how I had to be the one to do it." I sighed. "I just remembered her tackling me and shooting me up with whatever it was that she used to change me, and I remembered seeing her in Nadine when she took the Hulk's blood, and I just... I couldn't let her get away with it." I sighed. "I know it's stupid, and unprofessional, and kind of crazy, but-"

"She's the one who ordered them to cut out your unborn child so they would be able to work on stabilizing the Hulk's DNA so they could sell samples to the army or any other country who wanted an army of hulks." she said simply. "You were eliminating a threat. You did your job." she said and I looked down. "It's always hardest the first time."

"You felt like this too?" I asked and she nodded.

"Hard to believe isn't it?" she asked and I shook my head.

"I don't care what you say Nat," I said as I looked at her. "You're human, just like the rest of us. Except maybe Tony, I haven't cleared that yet." I said and she laughed lightly. "I know you feel the same things, even if you show it differently, I know you feel it." I sighed as I looked out the window. "God I can't wait to go home tomorrow." I paused and then looked back at Natasha. "What's been going on with Fleischer?"

"He's still not giving us any information, our inside source was able to get her hands on a lot of files, but there's evidence that he transferred a lot of it to a flash drive and we don't know where it is."

"And he's not giving it up?"

"As of," she looked at her phone. "Nine forty five, no. Clint is with him now."

"It's almost eleven o'clock." I said looking at the clock. She just shrugged as if to say 'What can ya do?'. "How long has he been awake now?"

"He sleeps for about twenty minutes, we wake him up." she said and I shook my head.

"Falls under 'Things I don't want to know'." I informed her and she smiled lightly. "No, but, seriously, do you think that's going to help? Why not bring Steve in, he knows Hydra." I said and she nodded after a moment of thought.

"At this point it can't hurt."

"Or, you know, at this point, give the guy a cup of coffee, he might tell you everything." I said and she seemed to think about that. "Nat, you said you had a person inside his lab, right?" I asked and she nodded. "Were any of Bruce's DNA samples recovered?"

"I'm sorry, they weren't." she said. "But we're still looking for them." she said. "We're sending contacts around the world, getting into the black market, doing whatever they can. This is our highest priority." she said and I smiled gently as she reached forward and gently took my hand. "I promise."

* * *

**_On my way to Disneyland, and I had to post this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. _**

**_Please don't forget to review!_ **


	44. Chapter 44

**_Hey ya'll, this chapter is in 3rd person from Bruce's POV, I hope you enjoy! _**

**_Disclaimer: Oh screw it, I own Bruce Banner. You believe me? Yeah... Me either..._ **

* * *

The next two days Bruce spent making sure Minnie was okay at home, apparently the place had been trashed by Norman's army looking for clues while Felipe called his lawyer and Dallas verbally abused every person to walk past the threshold, until he was actually arrested, and then bailed out an hour later by a very impressed Felipe, and Happy who couldn't stop sniggering.

They had put the house back together, and Amanda upon coming home had discovered her room was painted with a completely different color scheme- Blue and purple, her two favorite colors, which she loved.

The next day Bruce was dragged to the labs by Tony who sent Happy to pick him up, and even gave the man permission to drag Bruce from the house if he so needed. Bruce went begrudgingly leaving his wife alone with his daughters and okay in the knowledge that Felipe was right upstairs if Minnie needed him.

When Bruce got home that night he was amused to see Minnie, Felipe and Amanda asleep on the couch, the DVD menu for Meet Me in St. Louis playing on the TV. He chuckled at the sight of the three of them, and picked up the TV remote and turned it off. He went upstairs as he pulled his jacket off and rather than going to his bedroom he went down the hall to Kayla's bedroom, where he found the light on. He opened the door and found his little girl sitting at her table, papers sprawled out around her as she colored, her face set in deep concentration.

"Kayla, sweetheart, you should be asleep."

"I can't sleep." was the little girl's sullen reply.

"Why not?" he asked and she sighed deeply before looking up at him.

"Because of Mommy." she said and he sat down on the end of her bed. She put down her crayon and walked over to him, climbing into his lap. He wrapped his arm around her as she buried her face in his shirt and started to talk, he smiled as he softly stroked her hair, not hearing a word she was saying.

"Makayla," he said and she looked up at him. "You know I can't understand you when you talk to my shirt and not to me." he pointed out and she smiled.

"Mommy is sad." she said and he nodded.

"What about?"

"Because of how come she can't let her skin touch mine because my skin hurts her. I'm bad for Mommy, I make her hurt, and I'm sorry, I don't mean to." she said tearfully as she looked up at him.

"Oh, sweetheart," Bruce said softly as he wrapped his arms around her. She cried into his shirt and he damn well near felt his heart break, just like every time she cried. "Kayla, honey, you don't hurt mommy, it's Mommy who's scared of hurting you." He said as he rubbed her back.

"How?" she asked and he sighed.

"You know how Amanda is different?" he asked and she nodded. "Well, your mommy is different now too." Bruce said and Kayla frowned.

"How?"

"Remember when we were in Canada?" he asked and she nodded. "And how you and Amanda had to go to that safety room?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember the night, before you went to the safety room when it was just you and Amanda in the house and those sirens started going off? When Mommy got sick?" she nodded. "A very bad person got to your mother and gave her a shot."

"A shot? Like at the doctors?"

"Kind of." he said realizing why she looked so horrified. "When your doctor gives you a shot it's to help you. This was a bad guy."

"Like Loki?"

"Who told you about Loki?"

"Uncle Tony said that Loki was Thor's brother, the god of really bad outfit choices." she said and Bruce chuckled. "And then Uncle Thor said that he didn't want to talk about it anymore."

"Well, this bad person was a lady, her name was Madame Hydra."

"Hydra are those people who tried to hurt Uncle Steve, right?" she asked and Bruce nodded, not knowing when she had taken to calling the rest of the team Uncle (Or in Natasha's case, Auntie), but he wasn't going to stop her.

"That's right kiddo."

"So the people who tried to hurt Uncle Steve hurt Mommy instead?" he nodded again. "Why?"

"Because sweetheart, sometimes people forget that we're all on the same planet, and we're all humans-"

"Even Uncle Tony?" she asked and he laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, even Uncle Tony is human." he said and she sighed, almost disappointed at that. "What about Uncle Thor?"

"Uh, well... Uncle Thor is technically from a different world." he agreed. "Regardless, we have to share this world with everyone, and some people think that because they're smarter, or because they feel differently they have the right to try to control other people." he explained. "Hydra is full of people who think that they have the right to try and control everyone." he continued.

"Does Uncle Steve know that?"

"He does." he nodded.

"So why did they hurt Mommy?" she asked and he sighed as he thought for a moment.

"Because Mommy knew that they were bullies, and bad people; and Mommy was trying to stop them from hurting people." he explained.

"So they hurt Mommy?"

"That's right."

"And they made her like Amanda?"

"Yes." he said and she thought for a moment, swinging her legs slightly before looking at him.

"So Mommy still loves me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Oh Kayla," he sighed. "Mommy loves you more than anything in the whole world. Just like I do." he said and she smiled. "But really now, it's past your bedtime." he said as he stood up, lifting her in his arms as he did. He pulled the blankets back and put her down on the bed before pulling them over her. "Did you get a drink?"

"Yeah."

"Did you go potty?"

"Yeah."

"You wearing a pull up?"

"Yeah."

"Did you… Draw me a picture?" he asked and she giggled before nodding. He moved over to the pile of pictures and she sat up in the bed.

"The yellow one Daddy." she instructed him and he picked up the yellow sheet of construction paper she had drawn a picture for him on. He smiled at it and walked over to the bed and sat down on it next to her. "That one's you," she said pointing to a person in the picture. "And that's Mommy, and that's Amanda, and that's me," she turned the picture over. "And that's Uncle Tony and Uncle Steve, and Uncle Clint and Uncle Thor and Auntie Natasha." she said pointing to each person on the picture. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you sweetheart." he said as he looked at it. She smiled and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he laughed before she let go of him.

"Good night Daddy."

"Good night Kayla." he replied, and then paused at the door. "Kayla, about Mommy," he said and she looked at him curiously. "She will get better."

"She will?"

"Yeah." he nodded. "I promise." the little girl smiled and he turned off the light and started to close the door.

"Daddy?" she asked from inside the room and he opened the door again. "My light." she said and he walked across the room and turned on her night light, then went to the door. "Thank you Daddy." she said and he smiled.

"You're welcome Princess. Sweet dreams." he softly shut the door as he spoke and stood outside his daughter's room for a moment before he sighed and walked to his bedroom.

He hung up his coat and then went back downstairs and gently woke up Amanda who sat up quickly, looking around wildly. "Hey, you're okay." Bruce calmed her and she sighed before holding her hands out to him. He took them and pulled her to her feet, she stood in front of him for a moment before wrapping her arms around his middle. "You alright?" he asked as he hugged her back, she nodded sleepily into his chest.

"Night Dad." she said and he kissed the top of her head.

"Night Sweetheart." he said as she let go of him and smiled sleepily before turning and walking to the stairs, pausing only to scratch the back of her left leg, and then going to the staircase. Next on his list of people to wake up were his wife and his wife's best friend's boyfriend who were both sleeping soundly. "Minnie." he whispered as he gently shook her. She opened her eyes and looked around, before looking at the watch on her wrist and raising her eyebrows.

"Wow." she mumbled, before looking up at Bruce and smiling at him. "Hey."

"Hey." he said and she sat up enough to grab the front of his shirt and pull him down so she could kiss his chin quickly, before looking at her pillow who was still covered in the throw blanket he had covered himself with before she fell asleep on top of him, thus protecting him from any accidental physical contact when they fell asleep.

"Felipe." she said right next to his ear. He groaned slightly and opened his eyes.

"I must have fallen asleep." he said as he sat up, running a hand through his usually perfect, but tonight it was kind of all over the place brown hair.

"Honey, we all fell asleep." Minnie sighed, and watched as Bruce started to check on her knee.

"Does it hurt?"

"It always hurts when I first wake up." she said and he sighed as Felipe stood up, and groaned again slightly as he stretched out his back.

"Ah that feels better." he sighed, before he smiled at Bruce. "Hello Bruce."

"Hey Felipe, have fun?"

"Oh yes, we watched many Judy Garland films, she was such a gem." he sighed. "I hope your work is going well."

"It's... Going slowly." he admitted after a moment of thought.

"Tomorrow we're still on for The Easter Parade, right?" Minnie asked and Felipe nodded.

"Of course little sister. But for now I think I'll be going home." Felipe said as he rubbed his eyes blearily. He yawned and then cleared his throat. "Good night," he said as he leaned down and quickly kissed Minnie's cheek. "I will let myself out." he said to Bruce who nodded before Felipe kissed his cheek and then turned and walked to the front door and left.

"Help me up Baby." Minnie said holding her hands out to Bruce not unlike how Amanda had done just minutes ago. He took her hands and helped her up, but quickly caught her waist and wrapped his arm around her to make sure she kept her weight off of her knee. He walked like that, helping her keep her weight off of her knee, knowing she hated using her crutches in the house, especially when she was going upstairs. When they got to the stairs however, he simply lifted her up, which surprised the hell out of her, making her grab and cling to his shoulders. "Bruce, put me down, I'm too heavy." she whined and he shook his head.

"Number one, no you're not, and number two, if it makes you feel better, I could always have the other guy carry you upstairs." he shrugged and she laughed.

"And have Kayla ask me why I didn't put a spell on you to make you change back, no thank you." she said and he laughed at that. They got to their room and he gently put her down on the bed.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go turn off the lights downstairs." he said and she nodded before he went downstairs. After turning off the lights and checking the patio door and the front door to make sure they were locked he went back upstairs to see her changing into a pair of pyjamas. She pulled her hair out of the loose bun she usually kept it in these days until she could have a stylist look at it, and he watched as her hair tumbled down her bare back, he crossed the room, stepping up behind her and putting his hands on her bare waist, making her jump, she hadn't heard him walk in.

"Bruce," she breathed and he leaned down, pressing his lips to her shoulder. There was always something he loved about watching her; even the simplest movements made by her looked like the most seductive gestures. "Bruce, I don't want to hurt you." she said, her voice laced with fear.

He simply continued to move his lips across her shoulder, towards her neck as he wound one hair in her thick red hair, and the other he wrapped around her front, turning her slightly so she was facing him, so he could use the hand that was tangled in her hair to gently tilt her head up and he leaned down to kiss her. He could feel the burning in his lips and in the spot right behind his eyes when he started to feel the other guy threatening to come out.

He continued to kiss her, ignoring it for the moment, happy to try to pretend this wasn't happening, that everything was normal and that they would continue to kiss, he would lift her up onto the desk, and slide those silly underpants she was wearing off while her hands would be working frantically trying to unbutton his shirt and unbuckle his pants at the same time like she did sometimes.

In his mind their kisses would grow more passionate and he'd break away for half a second, to look over his shoulder and make sure the door to their bedroom was shut, and when he'd see it was she would have pulled his shirt down past his shoulders, and would be exploring his skin with her lips and hands. He would finish unbuckling his belt seeing as she had given that up for the blasted buttons that lined his shirt, but the moment he'd undo his belt her hands would run down his chest lightly, her fingertips barely brushing his skin in a way that both tickled and aroused him, before unzipping and unbuttoning his pants in an agonizingly slow manner.

She'd look up at him with her cheeky grin as she bit her bottom lip, sliding his pants down his hips, and then letting them go as she made her hands busy with other things. Their lips would meet again, both burning with more and more passion, his hands would slide up her knees, spreading them slightly, before one of his hands would slide up her thigh...

Bruce was brought crashing back to Earth and reality when he felt a sharp pain through his head, he pulled away from Minnie's kiss and she stared up at him anxiously, her eyes wide and apologetic as she guiltily watched him squeeze the bridge of his nose, battling internally with the Other guy about whether or not his presence was needed, which Bruce told him it more certainly was not, and the Other Guy would throw a fit, but go back to that part of Bruce's head where he would wait, and sometimes yell something out to Bruce about a situation he was in, making Bruce occasionally get this scowl on his face his friends had grown to understand what it meant but people who didn't know him would occasionally think he was just scowling.

Minnie was talking he realized and looked up as she turned her back to him, pulling on her pyjama top, a long sleeved shirt, and a pair of long sleeved loose sweat pants she had stolen from him once when she wasn't feeling well because she had no clean clothes and, in her words, she could say she got into his pants when she was sick which made him smile, happy she was still joking when she was sick.

"You know a long time ago you told me to stop apologizing about my condition." Bruce told her and she looked at him, before she nodded slowly. He walked over to her and very gently kissed her forehead. "It's time you take your own advice. You knew what it meant getting involved with me, and you chose to say, we've been together this long Minnie, do you honestly think I'm going to suddenly be unsupportive because this happened to you?" he questioned and she sighed as she lay back on her pillows.

"I have a meeting with Fury tomorrow." she said and he nodded. "Felipe is going to watch the girls for a little while." she told him as he undressed and pulled on a pair of pyjama pants and a tee shirt. He shut off the big light and walked over to the bed and climbed in, he turned off the lamp and wrapped his arm around her waist, making sure not to slide her shirt up slightly like he used to do so he could rest his hand on her bare waist. She sighed leaning into his embrace and soon she was asleep against him.

He lay there awake for awhile, not knowing whether he was going to tell her that they weren't having any luck with their experiments at the moment because they couldn't solve the equation without knowing all of the variables as Tony liked to say.

He also didn't know if he was going to tell her that he knew she was lying, that Fury had gone with Pepper to Washington D.C. Pepper had gone to go to a meeting, and Fury had gone to see the President about some things.

There was really only a few times Minnie lied to him, and they had always covered up something he would find he hated and wished he hadn't found out about, like when she went to New York to secure Spider-Man for the Avengers, but all the same he wished that she wouldn't lie. Sometimes he didn't know if it was what she had done, or the fact that she had covered it up that bothered him more.

He was deep in thought about that when she suddenly moved in closer to him, pressing her body against his and his thoughts instantly changed gears, turning back to the types of thoughts he had been having before, and suddenly wishing she hadn't pressed up against him like that.

He sighed and wished for the days when their only worry was if Kayla would stay asleep long enough for them to tear each other's clothes off and quite possibly make Kayla an older sister, but even as he thought about those days, he knew even without a physical relationship, he was still the luckiest person in the world to be laying in a bed next to this woman.

He settled for, brushing her hair from her face as he looked down at her, and let her sleep pressed up against him like that.

He fell asleep about an hour later.

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**_Okay, next chapter should be a little more interesting I hope, as for this chapter, I felt like it had been awhile since I had written anything from Bruce's POV. I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will be out soon!_**

**_P.S. Please don't forget to review!_ **


	45. Chapter 45

_**Hey ya'll, here's chapter 45, we're getting closer to finding the cure! I know so many of you are dying for the cure to happen, well, it's coming... Maybe. =D Just kidding, it's coming, it's just not an overnight thing, you know? Anywhoo, I hope you enjoy this chapter! **_

_**Disclaimer: I totally own Marvel... Oh yeah. No. I don't.** _

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Tony had been surprisingly overprotective of me the whole time I was recovering from surgery. He even insisted on doing a full background check- including hacking into their SHIELD personnel file- on the physical therapist that I would be seeing before deciding if he approved or not, so it was really no surprise when he found out I had a meeting at SHIELD about a half an hour before my meeting, while I was calling a cab, there was a knock on the door. I looked over at it and laughed as Kayla went running to the door. Felipe was in the kitchen with Amanda, having decided to teach the girls how to make cupcakes while I was gone.

"Mommy, it's Happy!" Kayla called as she came back. I smiled at her and then looked up at Happy who was walking in.

"Tony said you needed a ride." he informed me and I nodded as I hung up my phone.

"That's true." I replied as I put my phone in my purse. "He tell you where I'm going?"

"He did."

"Well okay then." I smiled, and then looked at Kayla. "I'll be back a little later sweetheart. Mind Felipe, okay?"

"Okay Mommy." she agreed before holding her arms up to me. I was about to hand my crutches to Happy s I could pick her up, but he walked over and picked her up easily making her giggle and me smile. I kissed the top of her head quickly, and he put her back down as Amanda walked over.

"I'm fine." she said to him and he chuckled lightly before I hugged her.

"Keep an eye on her, listen to Felipe, and why don't you call your boyfriend?" I asked and she blushed lightly.

"Well we kinda talked late last night." she shrugged and I raised my eyebrows at her making her smile.

"We're gonna have a talk later." I informed her and she laughed before I waved to Felipe.

"Bye Felipe, I'll see you soon honey." I said to him and he waved from where he was presetting the oven.

"Have a good meeting." he replied.

Happy took my purse and helped me into my coat before I picked up my crutches and walked with Happy to the elevator. "Where did Tony send you during all of the craziness?" I asked him and he looked at me.

"I was head of security at Stark Tower. Make sure no undesirables got in, that sort of thing."

"Well they could have picked better, Rhodey and I both got in, him on multiple occasions."

"I said undesirables, not people who know how to shut down entire computer systems." he said and I smiled at the thought.

"So I've been caught." I sighed and he smiled.

"I wanted to help you." he told me.

"I know Happy. And you did, you didn't call the cops."

"I just-"

"We all did what we had to." I told him as I laid my hand on his arm.

"I'd never have let her get that close to you Kid." he said to me and I smiled before the elevator stopped.

"Thank you Happy." I said to him as we went to the front doors. The Doorman held the door for us and Happy went to get the car, when he pulled it around he hopped out and held the back door open for me, taking the crutches so I could get in the back. He put them in the trunk for me before getting into the front and driving me to SHIELD Headquarters in Time Square.

We pulled up to the parking garage and I punched in my SHIELD ID code, and pressed my thumbprint to the screen next to it, before the gate opened. We pulled up to another gate and I rolled down the back window, and I showed my badge and ID to the guard who opened the gate. When we got inside the parking garage I smiled seeing Steve waiting for us inside. He opened the back door for me and helped me out of the car while Happy got my crutches.

"Call me when you're done." Happy told me and I nodded.

"No problem." I smiled at him before taking my crutches and following Steve. "Where is he?"

"We've brought him to one of the interrogation rooms downstairs." he informed me as we walked to an elevator. Steve hit the down button and then looked over at me. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. I'm glad to be home."

"Are the girls okay?"

"They're glad to be back as well." I nodded and he smiled. "How are you doing?"

"Well," he said after a moment of thought, as we stepped into the elevator and he hit the floor we were going to. "It's nice not to be called Captain Canada anymore." he admitted and I laughed. "I don't see how it's funny."

"Oh Steve," I giggled, happy I had my crutches to support me. "I know you get annoyed with him, but that's just Tony's way of showing he does care." I looked at him; he shook his head and looked at me.

"Just a little old fashioned I guess." he said.

"Oh please, like you guys didn't tease each other about things back then." I shook my head. "Things are different Steve, but they aren't that different."

"It's just... Stark, he's relentless. He's so much like his father." he looked at me sharply as soon as he said that and I looked up at him with a knowing smile.

"Don't worry Spangles," I said, using one of Tony's many nicknames for him. "I won't tell him you're homesick."

"Thank you Minnie." he said softly and I patted his arm. We stepped out of the elevator and he led me down the hallway.

"You can't hold the fact that he isn't Howard against him." I told him and he nodded. "I know it's hard Steve, but Tony really does care about you." We walked through doorways, and past security checkpoints, until we got to the interrogation rooms. "Next time," I joked as we got there. "We're holding the interrogation in Fury's office. It's closer to the elevator, and it's intimidating the moment you walk in there." I pointed out and Steve smiled.

"I am sorry about this, I can have them bring you a wheelchair." he offered and I waved a hand at him.

"We'll see how I'm feeling after this." I told him and he nodded as he held the door open for me. We walked into the adjoining room and I looked into the interrogation room. "He looks like shit." I blurted out when I saw Dr. Fleischer. He looked exhausted, he hadn't shaved in awhile, I suspected they were keeping him from sharp things, and he was recovering from a black eye by the looks of it. "Who hit him?" I looked to Clint who looked at Steve who looked at his shoes.

"I don't want to talk about it." Steve said softly and I shook my head with a small sigh.

"It was a pretty great swing." Clint said and Phil rolled his eyes.

"Well what do you expect?" he asked as if the idea of Captain America throwing a bad punch was ludicrous, which it kind of was.

"Hey," the door opened and I smiled at Natasha who smiled seeing me.

"You going in with me?" I asked and she nodded.

"We thought it would be best to keep the Cap away from him for a little while. Though we might get more information out of him if we call your husband."

"My husband doesn't know I'm here." I said to her and they all looked at me. "I mean, he knows I'm here, but I said I had a meeting with Fury."

"You lied to him?" Clint asked and I nodded hesitantly.

"He's got enough to worry about, not to mention Betty is hanging around the lab again." I sighed darkly.

"You sure you want to go in there?" Steve asked and I nodded.

"It's not my first rodeo." I said and noticed Natasha was holding a cane.

"Here," she said as I handed my crutches to Steve and took the cane. "I know the doctor wanted you to wait to start using a cane, but it looks better for the interrogation." she said and I nodded.

"Let's do this." I said and she nodded. We went to the doorway and Phil started recording as Natasha opened the door. I put my weight on the cane as we walked into the room, Dr. Fleischer had looked up, and started to look away, but did a double take when I walked in.

"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting to see you." he told me and I nodded.

"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting to be here." I informed him. "But, apparently we need to talk."

"You're expecting me to talk?" he scoffed. "After everything that has happened, you expect me to just sit here and tell you everything?" he scoffed. "You're even more deluded than I thought."

"I don't expect that." I said as I sat down, relieving the pressure on my knee. Natasha took the seat next to me as I folded my hands in front of me. "I don't expect you to tell us everything, that would be stupid. No, what I expect from you is to tell us where the drive is."

"That's what you people want to know?" he asked as he looked from me to Natasha with a frown.

"Well, yes." I nodded. "It's got the full information on what it is you did to change me completely. That information could make or break someone." I shrugged and he straightened up slightly.

"You're saying it worked?" he asked looking interested and I frowned.

"Of course it worked." I said and he nodded thoughtfully. "You didn't know it would work."

"There was always a chance it wouldn't work. The blood sample of yours we had was pretty old, so-"

"Wait, blood sample, what blood sample?" I asked.

"Your neighbor convinced you to donate blood very soon before Le- Before you were brought back out of hiding." he hesitated saying her name and I filed that little reaction away in my brain.

"You tracked down the blood I gave?" I asked and he nodded. "You had no idea if it would work or not."

"No." he said simply. "That's what's so ingenious about it." he smiled and I looked at Natasha, before dropping my hands to my lap, I pulled my gloves off while he spoke. "Think about it, to be able to change people, to change the little imperfections."

"Perfection is all you Germans seem to think about." Natasha said and he scoffed.

"Like the Russians don't think about it too. You're the closest they've come to it." he said and looked her over. "And even that is questionable. But think, if a mutant can be created, theoretically, once could be destroyed." he said and I put my bare hand over his, holding his down to the table.

"Theoretically?" I asked and he looked at my hand with an open mouth before looking up at me again.

"Oh, this is- Ah- I see why they chose her." he laughed, and he licked his lips. "It was never guaranteed to work, that's why Norman brought in Dr. Banner's father, because he was crazy enough to try it, and apparently to make it work." he said as he tried to pull his hand away. I held it in the same spot.

"We need all of the information regarding what you did to me." I said darkly to him as he tried to pull his hand away a little harder.

"Look, I uh, I put it all in my computer, every step, everything we did, its all there." he said quickly.

"There's information missing." Natasha said. "There's empty files, someone moved it."

"And you think it was me?!" he asked as he tried to pry my hand off of his wrist. "Please, Mrs- Mrs. Banner-" he started to look very faint so I let go of his hand. He put his head in his hands and Natasha slammed her hand on the table making him look at her with a jolt. "I didn't touch the files," he said. "They were some of my best work, why would I move them?" he asked.

"Who else had access to your computer?" I asked and he looked at me with an uneasy glance before he sighed.

"No one, just..." he paused. "Just the people in the lab." he looked at us. "I swear, I'm telling the truth." he said as Natasha looked at him darkly. He looked at me and I stared at him for a moment before I stood up, taking my cane, I stepped to the door and he watched us. "That's it?" he asked and I nodded.

"Unless we find out you're lying. I'm sure Captain America would love to take another shot at you, and I know my husband hasn't gotten his quality time with the good doctor." I pointed out and he winced.

"Mrs. Banner?" he asked as I got to the door. I paused and looked back at him. "Leona?" he asked almost looking hopeful.

"She's dead." his face fell and he sighed, before looking to Natasha who shook her head. "I did it." I replied and he stared at me for a moment before he nodded.

"And Norman?" he asked sounding disgusted.

"Same as you." I replied and he nodded before he looked away. "Agent Barton will be in to take you back to your cell." I told him before I left the room. When I got into the adjoining room I noticed first off that Phil was gone, and that Clint was gone.

"They went to track down the agent they had inside of the lab."

"Chloe Kenner." Natasha said to me. "She was going by the name Laura Robinson. She was like me and Clint, she was good. I never would have thought..."

"I know." I said softly. "Just concentrate on finding her." She nodded and I ran a hand through my hair before looking at the German doctor in the other room. Hopefully his chattiness would continue, because at this rate I was ready to throw him in a lab with Tony and Bruce.

* * *

Anna Marie stood in front of the Stark Tower looking up at it as the wind whipped her hair around her face, people walked by, ignoring the young girl before she sighed, and walked to the doors. A doorman opened them and she stepped though, looking around before she spotted a check in desk. She walked over to it and waited for the pizza guy in front of her to get the go ahead to go up before she stepped up to the desk where a pretty blonde woman with a little too much eye shadow was smiling a very big, pearly white smile at her.

"Hi, welcome to Stark Tower, can I help you?" she asked as she looked Anna over.

"Uh, I need to talk to Tony Stark." she said softly.

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked and Anna shook her head.

"No, uh, I'm here about what happened a few weeks ago, the whole Norman Osborn thing..." she said hesitantly. "I- I need to talk to him about-"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to make an appointment sweetheart." the receptionist said and Anna sighed.

"Look, it's important, he'll want to see me." Anna insisted. "Can you please call him? Please?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Stark is not to be interrupted without an appointment." she said pointedly and Anna sighed darkly.

"Does the name Rogue mean anything to you?" she asked and the blonde man who had been walking by paused mid step, before turning to look at the situation unfolding right there.

"Look, young lady, Mr. Stark is very busy, he can't be disturbed by every little girl who says it's important. If you need a quote, contact his assistant, if you need a paternity test, contact his lawyer, in either case, it's not something Tony will be seeing you about personally." she said. The blonde man who had stopped rolled his eyes before clearing his throat.

"Anna, Sweetie!" he said as he approached with a smile. "It is so good to see you again!" he said as he walked over to her and carefully wrapped his arms around her.

"You too…" she said as she slowly returned the hug, her voice laced with confusion.

"Just play along." he muttered in her ear, before pulling back. "I totally forgot you were coming in today! Tony will be so happy to see you again!"

"Well, not according to some people." Anna said and he waved his hand.

"Oh honey, don't you worry about it." he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and looked at the blonde whose smile had disappeared, and was staring at the two darkly. "Oh, Adriana, honey, she's fine, don't worry about it." he said before he walked over to the desk and got a visitors sticker and put it on Anna's chest, before he wrapped his arm around her and walked her toward the elevator. "Now, Sweetie," he was saying loudly. "You have got to tell me all about that cutie pie you've hooked up with, and tell me, does he have a brother? I'm kidding of course!" he said as he pressed the elevator button. When the doors slid open he led her into the elevator and the doors shut."Lab 12 please Jarvis."

"Right away sir." a voice replied and Anna jumped slightly.

"Alright Kiddo," the blonde man said as he let go of Anna. "You're Rogue huh?" he asked and she nodded. "Well, my name is Dallas, and I'm Minnie's best friend, and the fairy godfather to her children." he explained.

"It's nice to meet you." she said and he raised an eyebrow as he looked her over.

"I can understand why you agreed to help with the testing." he said finally. "You were promised a cure."

"I was stupid to think they'd have a cure." she said softly.

"No, you were hopeful." Dallas said and he put his hand on her shoulder. "And someday they may have a cure. But I think you really need to ask yourself, is what you are something you want to change with something you refer to as a cure? A cure makes it sound like you're sick, which you aren't. You're just different pumpkin. That's like people saying I can be cured because I happen to prefer to dress girls up rather than strip them down." he shrugged. "It's changing who you are."

"I never wanted this." she said and he nodded.

"I never wanted this either." he said. "But I am who I am. And you are who you are."

"Then why do you want Minnie to be changed back so much?" she asked and he smiled gently.

"Because it's not who Minnie is." he said. "You know how to use your power, you're part of a team, and you are trained. Minnie isn't."

"She's trained. She's on a team."

"She was trained by an assassin, not a mutant. She was part of a team briefly, but now the only team she's part of is Team Banner. Her team is her family, it always has been." Dallas explained. "And I'm not saying that you shouldn't take a cure if one is invented, if you know in your heart of hearts that it's right to do so, and it's what you want." he clarified. "I'm just saying, what they're doing here, it isn't so much of a cure, as it is a reversal."

"I was part of making her this way." she said. "Amanda was nice to me, and if I can help her mother in any way, I want to." Rogue replied.

"That's what I want to hear." Dallas said. "Jarvis open the doors." the doors opened on a floor and Dallas led Rogue to a room, and scanned an ID card before opening the door. Tony was working on a sequence on a touch screen computer while Bruce was typing on a laptop, his glasses were perched precariously on the tip of his nose and he looked up when Dallas and Rogue walked in.

"Is today take your daughter to work day?" Tony asked. "If I had known I'd have borrowed one of yours." he said to Bruce who scoffed.

"Get your own daughters." he muttered as he took his glasses off. "What's up Dallas?"

"Love bug, this is Anna Marie," Dallas said as he put his hand on Rogue's shoulder. "You may also know her by the name Rogue." Bruce and Tony both looked at each other when he said that before looking back at the girl.

"I know it's kind of my fault what happened." she said to Bruce. "And I want to help."

"Good, because we were just talking about the possibility of tracking down Minnie for a blood sample. Since your blood was used to make her, come on in and roll up your sleeves!" Tony said cheerily as Bruce stared at the young girl. She looked at Dallas who nodded and then walked over to Tony while Bruce walked over to Dallas.

"Have you spoken to Minnie?" Bruce asked and Dallas shook his head.

"No, but I know Felipe is with your girls. He's teaching Amanda how to make cupcakes."

"She just came in, on her own?" he asked, ignoring what Dallas had just said.

"She came in all upset wanting to talk to Tony, so I brought her up." he shrugged. "She seems like she really does want to help."

"Yeah." Bruce nodded, not looking away from the young girl. "Have uh, have you seen Betty?"

"Don't call her that." Dallas said suddenly and Bruce looked at him curiously. "Call her Dr. Ross please. I don't like her hanging around and its worse when you call her Betty. Especially after last time."

"Did you hear the full story?" Bruce sighed and Dallas nodded.

"Of course I did, doesn't mean she's getting invited to the baby shower."

"Baby shower?" Bruce asked and Dallas grinned.

"I already told Minnie, but Felipe and I are going to adopt." he grinned. "Once everything is calmed down of course." he waved his hand quickly and Bruce smiled.

"Guess we'll have to hurry up with this cure huh?" he asked and Dallas nodded.

"Of course. Oh, and don't worry, I'll still be the girls fairy godfather."

"Of course." Bruce laughed.

"And you'll be my baby's godfather." Dallas smiled and Bruce looked slightly surprised.

"I- Really?" he asked and Dallas nodded.

"Of course Love Bug." he replied, before looking at his phone. "Oh, got to go, Pepper's calling me. Bye bye Anna, have fun!" he called to her and she looked back at him, and waved slightly.

"Hey Banner, I could use your help seeing as you used to do this to yourself all the time." Tony called and Bruce sighed before he walked over and took the needle from Tony and found a good vein in Anna's arm to use.

"You'll feel a slight pinch." he warned her, happy to see Tony had wiped down her arm with alcohol pads already. He pushed the needle into her arm and attached a vial, letting it collect blood.

"Dr. Banner." Anna said softly and he looked up at her. "I'm sorry."

"I know." he said softly.

He knew it wasn't her fault what happened, that she had gone to those people in hopes of getting help for her condition, but a small part of him still couldn't help but think that if she hadn't gone to them, he would be able to touch his wife without worrying about decimating an entire city.

For now he wasn't going to keep thinking like that though, he was going to work on finding a cure.

* * *

**_Got some Rogue action there, because I know you guys love her, and we're inching closer and closer to the cure. _**

**_Has anyone else noticed that Steve seems to have a small crush on Minnie? Someone pointed that out to me, and I don't know if I should address it in the story or not, seeing as she is as in love with Bruce as she ever was, and vice versa. I think I'll save addressing it for my next story- Whoops, did I just say that? Oh well, I guess I may as well tell you, I'm in the process of writing two more stories, a Captain America Story, and a Clint Barton story, both of which take place in the same universe. I don't know which one I'll post first, but I'll keep you updated. _**

**_Please don't forget to review! Let me know what you think about Steve's little crush, I'd like to know if you guys think about that._ **


	46. Chapter 46

_**Hey ya'll! Little closer to the cure now! I'm not gonna say too much, I just want you to enjoy the chapter! **_

_**Disclaimer: I wish you could buy Marvel with cupcakes.** _

* * *

Natasha's ability to get in and out of places without anyone knowing she was there- unless of course she wants you to know- never ceases to surprise me. I had stayed up late, waiting for Bruce to come home, and when he wasn't home by eleven o'clock I went to bed, after checking on the girls. The next morning I woke up to someone shaking me.

"Darling if you need something, ask Daddy." I groaned.

"Minnie." Natasha said and I jumped, scooting away from her with a jolt. It was still dark out and I realized I was still alone in bed.

"Jesus Christ Nat." I breathed. "What- What's wrong?" I asked as I ran my hand over my face.

"I need you to authorize this." she said as she held out a paper.

"What is it?" I asked as I turned on the light next to my bed.

"I need permission to go out of the country."

"Why?" I lay back on the pillows.

"Because a passport Chloe is known to use on occasion was just used." she explained. "She's on her way to Korea."

"No, I mean why do I need to authorize it" I asked as I looked at her. "Go crazy." I threw my hands up, and then paused, thinking about that. "On second thought don't go crazy, just go... Moderately crazy." I nodded.

"I need you to authorize it because you're SHIELD's director and every minute we spend talking every minute Chloe is going to get closer to her target. We've got agents in that part of the world tracking her down, but I want to be the one to bring her home."

"Okay, do you have a-" she held up a pen. "Thanks." I took it and signed the form before looking at her. "And Nat?" I asked and she looked at me as I sat back up. "Make sure she's got it with her before she gets home." I told her and she nodded.

"I'll check in when I land." she informed me.

"Nat, let's keep this one close. Who else knows you're going?"

"Just Coulson."

"Do you need Barton on this one?" I asked and she shook her head. "You sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be simple." she nodded.

"Alright." I said. "Let's just keep it me you and Coulson. I'll take care of the rest." I told her and she gave me a small smile. "What?"

"You're starting to sound like a Director again." she said and I smiled.

"Have a safe flight Nat." I said and she gave me another small smile before leaving.

As I lay on the bed I thought back to earlier in the day, around dinnertime.

* * *

I had ordered for us from my favorite Chinese place in town, Kayla loved Chinese, her favorite food currently was egg rolls, and chow mein, and while I knew I should make her eat differently, I figured a treat would be nice for her. As we were getting ready to eat Amanda walked into the kitchen and paused seeing who I had invited over for dinner.

"Logan, what are you doing here?" she asked and he shrugged from where he was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer.

"Your mom invited me over." he said and she nodded slowly.

"Oh, cool." she said nonchalantly, but I could see her look around the kitchen.

"He's gone back to school sweetie." I told her and she blushed lightly.

"Who?" she asked as she sat down at the table.

"Piotr." I replied as I picked up Kayla. "Did you wash your hands?" I asked and she nodded. "Good girl." I put her in her booster seat and she looked at her plate before grinning widely.

"Can I eat?" she asked and I nodded.

"Course you can sweetheart." I said as I handed her a fork and spoon. "Logan, you good on your beer?" I asked as I walked to the fridge.

"Mom, where's your crutches?" Amanda asked suddenly and I smiled at I looked at her.

"I know the doctor said not to, but Logan offered..." I shrugged and she smiled before looking at him.

"Thank you." she said softly to him.

"She's still got to go to physical therapy." he shrugged, not used to people displaying gratitude to him.

"But I don't need the crutches so much anymore." I grinned. "I've just got to take it easy."

"That's great." Amanda smiled.

"What do you want to drink honey?" I asked her and she shrugged.

"What do we have?"

"We've got tea, lemonade, water and diet coke."

"Diet coke please." she said and I grabbed two cans of diet coke and poured them over ice for myself and her, for Kayla I grabbed a juice box and put it in front of her, half of her face was covered in sticky white rice as she ate.

"Where's Daddy?" Kayla asked as she took apart an egg roll. It may be her favorite thing on the menu, but she sure had a strange way of eating it.

"Daddy has to work late tonight honey." I replied.

"Will he be home tomorrow?"

"Of course." I told her and she smiled.

"I want to go back to school." Amanda suddenly blurted out and we all looked at her. "I just- I feel like with all the moving around and everything, I've been missing a lot of school, and I think it's time for me to go back, you know? Things have calmed down and I haven't accidently scared anyone-" Kayla looked up at her with wide eyes and Amanda shot her an apologetic look.

"That was mean." Kayla said softly and Amanda leaned over and hugged her.

"I didn't mean to Kayla, I'm so sorry." she said and Kayla nodded, patting her older sister's hair, not noticing that she left a few pieces of white rice clinging to Amanda's strawberry blonde hair.

"When did that happen?" Logan asked and Amanda sighed as she sat up straight in her hair, I reached over and plucked the white rice from her hair.

"When we were in Canada. It was an accident, it just happened."

"What did you turn into?" I asked softly and Amanda looked at Kayla who sighed.

"That bad lady." Kayla said softly.

"Well you don't need to worry about her anymore." Logan said and I cleared my throat and shot him a look. "She was arrested." he continued and I nodded with a smile.

"So, can I go back?" Amanda asked and I smiled.

"Honey, that's why I asked Logan to come here today," I informed her. "He's going to take you back to the school next week."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lit up happily and I nodded.

"Of course, we were going to ask if you were ready to go back." I said and she sighed happily.

"If Amanda goes back to school, who am I going to play with?" Kayla asked sadly.

"You my little munchkin are going to a new preschool." I informed her and she looked overjoyed.

"Like back at our old, old house?" she asked and I nodded as I picked up her juice box she knocked over.

"That's right honey." I replied and she sighed happily.

* * *

I smiled lightly as I thought about that, Dallas had found us a nice preschool down the street which not only gave parents time off from their extremely energetic kids, but also had a great learning program, and an art program which I knew Kayla would love. I walked downstairs to make myself a cup of tea, seeing as the gloves I slept in were cotton, I took them off so when I was putting the water in the kettle, before looking at the empty couch, and then at the clock above the microwave before I picked up the phone and dialed Bruce's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey honey, did I wake you up?" I asked and he groaned softly before clearing his throat.

"Yeah, I guess I fell asleep at the Tower." he said and I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

"Okay, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"No no, it's alright." he said. "I hope you haven't been waiting up for me."

"No, I just woke up, I'm making a cup of tea and I thought I'd check in and make sure I don't have to start searching the hospitals for you." I teased.

"No, no, I'm sorry to make you worry." he said and I chuckled lightly.

"It's okay Honey. Why don't you just stay there, I'll bring you some clothes in the morning." I told him.

"It's okay, Tony kept some of the clothes I left here when I was working here last time."

"Okay, well, I hope that you'll come see your children tomorrow." I said.

"Rather see my wife." he replied and I laughed.

"Well hurry home and you can." I said and he chuckled.

"So you want me to come home now?"

"Well I don't want you to leave in the mornings." I said with a smile.

"So I'll come home."

"Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Well, might be best if you just stayed there tonight." I told him. "But, let's not make this a regular occurrence. I may not be able to touch you, but I miss using you as a pillow." I said and he laughed.

"Ah, now I know why you married me." he said and I giggled.

"Ah, you've found me out." I said and he laughed.

"It's alright, I've apparently grown used to being someone's pillow, between you and Makayla, it feels weird not having someone sleeping on top of me." he admitted.

"So come home tomorrow." I replied.

"I will." he promised. "I love you."

"I love you too baby." I told him before we hung up. I walked over to the stove and then laughed to myself when I realized I had forgotten to turn the burner on. I turned it on and returned to the kitchen table. About five minutes later I heard the front door open and I smiled. I stood up and walked to the front room and stopped seeing a raven haired Vietnamese woman holding a briefcase standing there. She looked as surprised to see me as I was to see her.

"Let me guess," I said after a moment. "Chloe Kenner."

"Well when you're right, you're right." she said and I nodded.

"And when you're a traitor?" I asked.

"You're doing what you've been taught. You're looking out for number one." she replied.

"I thought you were half way to Korea by now."

"Not quite." she said simply. "There's just one more thing I need to get." her eyes flickered to the stairs and I looked behind myself before I stepped to the side, right in front of the stairs.

"That's funny, because you have the one thing I need to get." I said as I stood there. I heard the tea pot start to whistle in the kitchen and Chloe looked at me before she looked to the side. I looked to see what she was looking at and she darted past me, towards the kitchen.

I followed after her, my knee aching in protest, before sliding to a stop as Chloe swung a baking sheet I had used previously in the night at me. I ducked, crashing into her legs, knocking her back on her back. I heard movement upstairs and Chloe and I both stared at each other before she elbowed me in the ribs, making me clutch my ribs and roll off of her. She jumped up, and turned off the stove before grabbing the tea pot.

"I'm sorry Director Banner," she said. "But this is going to hurt you a lot more then it will me." she said as she held the tea pot over my face. We both heard a noise behind her and she turned around, and let out a shriek. I looked behind her, noticing Amanda had taken the shape of what looked like a wraith.

I quickly rolled to the side as Chloe stumbled back, dropping the tea pot as she did, it splashed everywhere, and she landed in it before screaming and trying to jump away from the hot water. Amanda changed back and helped me up as Kayla started crying upstairs and I looked down at Chloe who looked startled and horrified, sitting there on the floor of the kitchen, soaked, burnt and broke as I would imagine.

"This'll hurt you a lot more then it will me." I told her before I punched her hardly in the head. She collapsed on the floor and I ran a hand over my face before I looked at Amanda who looked pale and was shaking slightly. "Honey, are you okay?" I asked and she nodded numbly. "Go get me the duct tape." I told her and she nodded before I went to the phone and picked it up. I dialed Coulson's cell phone number and waited a moment.

"Hello?" a female voice answered.

"Heather its Minnie, wake Phil up and send him over to my place."

"Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, I just took down an assassin in my own home. Send Phil over." I said before hanging up. I thought for a moment and then went to Amanda who handed me the duct tape. I pushed Chloe onto her stomach and felt her sides; I took her jacket off and looked inside the pockets. "Take it carefully." I ordered Amanda who nervously took the jacket and hung it up on the back of a chair. I taped Chloe's hands behind her back and gestured Amanda over. "Take her arm, and on the count of three we're going to hoist her into this chair." I said and she nodded, before helping get me into the chair.

A few minutes later the door opened and I pulled the gun from the inside of Chloe's jacket. I slowly moved out the door and stepped towards the front door. I stepped onto the front room and let out a sigh as Bruce lifted his hands quickly, and I lowered the gun.

"What the hell is happening?" he asked as he rushed over to me. I handed him the gun and he put it on the stairs before wrapping his arms around me tightly. I clung to his shoulders as he held me tightly.

"I taped her mouth." Amanda said walking out of the kitchen. I let go of Bruce and sighed before I gently patted his chest.

"Wait for Phil." I said and he cupped my face before leaning down to kiss me.

"Daddy?" a small voice from the top of the stairs called and he looked up. Kayla ran down the stairs and he caught her as I quickly grabbed the gun and hid it from her. I went back to the kitchen and put the gun on the counter as I looked Chloe over.

Amanda had defiantly seen a lot of films, she had taped Chloe to the chair, to the bottom of the chair, taped her ankles to the legs of the chair. She walked into the kitchen and I smiled at her.

"I've seen films, they always find a way out." she said and I nodded.

"Min-"

"Don't bring her in here!" I said to Bruce quickly and I heard him stop. I walked out of the kitchen and looked up at him. "Please, just go in the front room, wait for Phil, there should be some agents coming any moment now." I heard the door open hardly and I threw my hands up as if to say "You see", before I smiled at Kayla who looked scared. "Don't worry sweetie, everything is okay." I promised her.

"Minnie?" I turned around and smiled seeing Phil who walked over and wrapped his arms around me, which to be honest, kind of surprised me a little.

"I'm fine Phil, my daughter helped." I said as I looked at Amanda who smiled lightly.

"We're lucky she was easily startled." she said softly and I nodded.

"Where is she?" Clint walked into the house followed by Steve and I shot Phil an exasperated look.

"We needed our best agents on this. I'm having Natasha's plane delayed, she'll be collected and we'll find it." Phil told me and I nodded, crossing my arms.

"Careful guys," I said as Steve and Clint walked into the kitchen. "Floor's wet- Careful!" I said as Steve slipped, and caught himself on the counter.

"I'm okay." he said quickly and I laughed lightly as I walked over and threw down some dish towels.

"Minnie," Phil dropped his voice. "Did you find it on her?"

"She had a briefcase, it's by the front door, I didn't go through it, put either Nat or yourself on it." I said lowly to him while Bruce settled Amanda and Kayla on the couch. "Also," I said and he looked at me. "If you don't find anything, I want you to do a full body x-ray. She's riding a lot of money on this, that's why she came here. She said she needed one more thing before leaving." I nodded to the couch and his jaw set before he nodded.

"There's no way she would let it get far from her." he said understanding my meaning.

"Exactly." I replied.

"Hey, Min," Clint said suddenly and I looked over at him. "She's got stitches right here." he said and we walked over to him. Amanda looked over the back of the couch as I got to where he was pointing. Under her left shoulder alongside her bra strap was a small cut, which had been stitched up.

"These stitches are fresh." Bruce said as he slipped on his glasses. "Maybe an hour old."

"So she got in a fight." Steve said and Clint shot him a look. Even Phil looked slightly exasperated at his hero.

"No, she was perfectly fine when she decided to walk into my house and try to take my baby." I said and Clint smirked lightly. I ran my thumb along the stitches and then paused, before doing it again. I looked at Chloe who was awake now and looking at me nervously. I looked at Clint who ripped the duct tape off of her mouth making her wince and he smirked as Steve also winced.

"I knew you wouldn't let it get too far away from you, but this?" I asked and she glared at me.

"vít bạn." she snapped and I raised my eyebrows.

"Well I don't know what you said but-"

"She said "screw you"." Bruce said as he leaned in, looking at the stitches. He looked at Chloe who swallowed and stared at him, trying not to break eye contact. "Chloe, you sewed the chip into your arm didn't you?" he asked and she stared at him.

"Same to you." she snarled.

"That's a yes." Clint muttered before he grabbed a pair of scissors and handed them to Bruce. "Get it over with."

"Wait a minute, you can't just cut her open!" Steve protested.

"Why not, she did it to herself!" Clint said and I rolled my eyes.

"Would you feel better if we took her to the hospital to do it?" I asked and Steve nodded. "Good, you stay with the girls, we'll go do that." I said to him and he sighed as he looked at me with an exasperated look on his face.

"Minnie-"

"Steve." I looked back at him and he looked me over before crossing his arms.

"What happened to your crutches?" he asked and everyone looked at me.

"He offered." I said after a moment and Bruce shook his head lightly as he looked at me and Steve frowned.

"You know that your doctor said it was better for you to heal on your own."

"I'll still do the physical therapy, but the crutches were driving me nuts!" I replied.

"Minnie, just because you have the ability to do something doesn't mean you should!" Steve countered.

"You know what Steve; I really don't need a lecture from you right now!"

"A lecture? Minnie really, this is about you- You need to be more careful-"

"Says the guy who can't get hurt even if he were to try. Steve, I'm not a doll, I'm not made of glass, I don't need a babysitter 24-7."

"Apparently you do!" he shouted back at me, gesturing to Chloe, as I stared up at him. Everyone was silent, even Chloe.

"Cut open the stitches." I said looking at Bruce who raised his eyebrows. "Now." I replied.

"Minnie, Steve's right, we should do it at a hospital."

"You know what I've learned about assassins is you never know how many of them there are, there's no guarantee you'll make it to a hospital. Do it now." I told him and he looked at Phil who nodded slowly.

"Clint, upstairs in my closet on the top shelf, there's a black bag will you go get it please?" he asked and Clint nodded before going upstairs. Bruce went to the sink and washed his hands before Clint returned with the bag and Bruce opened it, pulling out a scalpel, and tweezers.

"Hon, grab me a paper plate." he said and I did what he told, he pulled out a needle and a small vial of something and looked at me as I eyed the needle.

"Don't you fucking stick me with that." Chloe said threateningly.

"Don't move or it'll break off inside of you." Bruce warned and she stared at him in slight horror before he pushed the needle into her skin and injected her with-

"Lidocaine?" Steve asked and Bruce nodded.

"It's a local anesthetic." he replied and Steve looked a little grossed out as I put the paper plate on Chloe's lap and Bruce started cutting the stitches.

"Ew." Amanda muttered from the couch and Phil, Steve and I all looked over. "She's asleep." Amanda said, her eyes never leaving what Bruce was doing. When the wound was open he picked up a pair of long tweezers and slid them into the wound, before pulling out a small, flash drive chip. He looked up at me and I smiled as he put it on the paper plate and moved it from Chloe who was glaring at all of us.

"You know they're all going to kill me now right?" she asked and everyone looked at her. Bruce was stitching her back up.

"Who were you going to sell it to?" Phil asked and she scowled.

"There were some prospective buyers." she replied.

"Clint, uh... Minnie, we're gonna borrow this chair." Phil said and I laughed as I nodded.

"That's fine Phil." I replied.

"We'll bring it back." Clint replied as he and Steve picked up Chloe, Clint "Accidently." dropped the legs of the chair making her fall forward slightly, Steve caught her, glaring at Clint as Clint grinned and picked her back up.

"Like I said, I want Natasha heading this." I told Phil who nodded.

"Get some sleep Minnie." he said and I nodded as I covered my mouth with a yawn. He left and I locked the door behind him, Bruce picked Kayla up and brought her upstairs while I talked to Amanda downstairs.

"Honey, you did amazingly today." I said to her and she smiled lightly.

"That time I meant to do it." she told me and I laughed as I hugged her. She hugged me back, careful not to touch my skin and I rubbed her arm lightly before I sent her upstairs. I looked at the small chip on the plate and found myself staring at it, until Bruce came up behind me.

"You okay?" he asked and I jumped.

"I thought you were putting Kayla to bed."

"I did." he said and I nodded.

"It's funny isn't it?" I asked and he shook his head.

"None of this is funny." he replied and I smiled lightly. "If it weren't for me-"

"Not another word." I said pointing at him. "I'm too tired for this pity party. We're not having it. This chip," I pointed at it. "Could very well have everything you need to know to undo whatever the hell it is they did to me." I told him and he nodded with a small smile before the phone rang. "That'll be Tony."

"Hello Tony." Bruce said into the phone. He paused and listened, and then shook his head. "No." he said. "No, we have all the time in the world tomorrow." he told Tony. "I just want to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow Tony." he said before hanging up.

He walked over to the counter and picked up a tissue before picking up the chip. He wrapped it in the tissue and put it into a plastic sandwich bag before walking over to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into his touch and he took me upstairs, leaving the mess in the kitchen, we went upstairs to the bedroom and I changed my pajamas, having gotten wet from the water, and he changed into his pajamas, before putting the chip in the locked drawer on his bedside table.

He took my hand and pulled me to him, before he leaned down and kissed me. I broke away after a moment, and he smiled at me gently before we got into bed and he turned off the light. I pulled a pair of cotton gloves on and got into bed, before he wrapped his arm around me, I rested my head on his shoulder and he held me close as we both started to fall asleep.

A few minutes later Kayla showed up in the doorway, she ran over to the bed and Bruce helped her into bed with us, before falling asleep. An hour later I was vaguely aware of Amanda slipping into bed next to me as we slept.

Even as I slept, in the back of my mind, I knew the secret to me being normal again was in the third drawer from the top in Bruce's bedside table.

And the thought of it terrified me.

* * *

**_I know you guys like action, and it is an Avengers story, so I threw a little action, as well as Amanda using her ability to help. I hope you enjoyed it! _**

**_P.S. Please don't forget to review!_ **


	47. Chapter 47

_**Hey ya'll! Here it is, the chapter you've been waiting for! I'm not going to write some long memo, I want you to just enjoy the story! **_

_**Disclaimer: Minnie's life is mine. Who she shares her life with does not belong to me... Marvel, do you want her? I'd be happy to sell her to you if you'd just put her in the next Avengers movie! ;D** _

* * *

The next day I went with Bruce to the tower and let Dallas take the girls to see Pepper while Bruce took me to lab 12 to take my blood. Betty was there, smiling, though I could see she wasn't enthused about me being there. Bruce slipped the needle into my arm and started to take a vial of blood. "What are you going to do with the girls today?" he asked.

"Well I figured I'd take them to the Central Park Zoo." I told him and he smiled.

"Anything else?"

"Depending on how they're feeling, we may go shopping." I admitted and he smiled. "What are you going to do today?" I asked and he leaned in, kissing me, before he pulled back.

"Same thing I do every day."

"Try to take over the world." Tony muttered and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. "She had this inside her shoulder?"

"Like some sort of fucked up T-1000." I nodded and he made a face before wiping the chip down with an alcohol wipe. He put it into a chip reader and the information came up on the screen.

"Hello missing variables." he said with a smirk. Bruce switched the vials, and looked over at what Tony was doing. He moved the image from the screen into the air in front of him and turned it slightly, looking at the equations and the notes from every angle.

"Where did they come up with this?" Betty asked softly and Bruce looked at it.

"I recognize that equation." he said softly and Betty and Tony looked at him. He removed the needle from my arm and taped a cotton ball down over where he took the blood. "Not the particular equation of course, but a variation of it." he said as he walked over and moved the equation right in front of him. He started to remove things, letters and symbols I couldn't begin to understand before he turned it back to Tony who grinned.

"Of course!" he said and looked at me. "Kiddo you'll be back to normal in no time."

"You can cure it?" I asked and Bruce looked at me.

"We think we can." he said. "It wouldn't be so much of a cure as it would be reversing the effects on what it is Madame Hydra gave you." I explained.

"So this wouldn't work on a born mutant?" I asked and he shook his head.

"No, why were you planning on changing Amanda?" he asked and I scoffed lightly.

"I had someone else in mind." I said and Bruce shook his head.

"Well until scientists can find a cure for them, I'm afraid this one won't work." he said, before he quickly kissed me.

"Yeah, we won't have to worry about you knocking over the building every time you do that huh big guy?" Tony joked and Bruce just smiled.

"Good bye Tony." I said to him and he smiled.

"See ya kiddo. Take Happy, have him drive you, he could use the fresh air."

"Alright." I nodded and he waved as he turned back to the equations. "I'll see you later." I said to Bruce who smiled and nodded.

* * *

As the next week went by I saw very little of Tony, Bruce and Betty. Even Erik Selvig had gone into Lab 12 and hardly came out. Twelve days after the Chloe incident- as we were calling it- I was giving Kayla a bath.

"Look up sweetheart," I said as I filled a cup with water. She looked up and closed her eyes as I poured the water over her head, some of it getting in her eyes, but she just wiped it away and smiled at me.

"Mommy, can I cut my hair?" she asked and I looked at her hair. It went down just past her shoulders and was long and pretty and curly.

"Why do you want to cut it pumpkin?" I asked.

"It hurts when you pull it."

"You know I don't mean to pull it, I'm just brushing it." I told her and she sighed. "How short?"

"Like Auntie Natasha's." she said and I thought for a minute before I nodded.

"Alright baby, I'll make an appointment with Juan, okay?" I asked and she grinned widely.

"He made your hair look pretty." she said and I smiled.

"Mommy could use with getting it touched up too." I replied and she giggled.

"Yeah." she agreed and I laughed.

"You're not supposed to agree with me you little munchkin." I said and she laughed before the door opened.

"Hey." Bruce said as he walked in.

"Hey baby." I said looking up at him.

"Daddy, I'm gonna get my hair done!" Kayla announced happily and he looked at me.

"It'll be easier to brush in the mornings." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah, the uh, screaming can make someone a little crazy." he agreed and I nodded.

"It's gonna look like Auntie Natasha's!" she said just as happy. "And then I'm gonna learn how to do a cartwheel."

"Why a cartwheel?"

"Because Amanda knows how to do them and she used to do them when we were in Canada." she said as she washed her Barbie dolls hair with a bar of soap.

"You're all done." I said as Bruce handed me her favorite hooded towel that looked like a shark. She stood up and Bruce picked her up out of the bathtub and I put the hood part on her head and wrapped her up, before letting her run down the hall to her room.

"Nom nom nom!" she shouted as she ran down the hall.

"She'll make a good shark someday." I said jokingly and Bruce laughed as he helped me up. "How are you?" I asked, kissing his chin gently.

"We did it." he said and I looked at him blankly. "We're done honey, we found the cure." he told me and I felt my knees give out. He caught me quickly and sat me down on the edge of the bathtub before he sat on the closed lid of the toilet.

"Are you sure?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'm not going to go into the science of it, but yeah, all of the tests we've done on your blood, it reverses the effects of Rogue's power." he said as I stared at the floor of the bathroom. "We can do it." he said and I looked at him.

"What if it doesn't work?" I asked. "I know you're going to have to knock me out, like last time, but what if when I wake up, and I haven't changed, what if I'm the same as I am now."

"Then we keep trying." he said as he took my hand. I looked at his hands nervously, I hadn't worn my gloves to give Kayla a bath, but he held my hand tight between his. "Do you still trust me?" he asked and I smiled lightly.

"I never stopped."

"Then, we'll try tomorrow?" he asked and I nodded. He smiled and let go of my hand, before letting out a sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to love it when I can touch you without the other guy throwing a tantrum." he said and I laughed lightly, before wiping the tear that fell down my face. "Hey," he gently cupped my face. "Everything will be fine." he smiled and I smiled before I leaned forward and kissed him. I pulled away after a quick moment and I nodded.

"Tomorrow it is." I said with a smile.

* * *

The next morning I made the girls breakfast, Dallas and Felipe came over for breakfast as well, and as I served the breakfast I noticed Felipe eyeing the bacon before looking at me.

"I forgot the Orange juice." I said as I stood up. "Be right back."

"I'll help." Felipe jumped up and Dallas barely looked up from where he was telling Bruce and the girls a funny story about my interning days. "Bacon darling?" he asked. "You are upset."

"I'm not upset, I'm nervous, there's a difference." I said as I pulled a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. "Will you grab me the pitcher above the microwave?" I asked and he opened the cabinet and pulled down the pitcher

"Dallas and I are going to take the girls for the time you are asleep so your husband can monitor your progress, Kayla will be put into preschool for the days, and Dallas will bring Amanda to work with him. I'd take her with me, but I'm going to Brazil in a few days and I don't think she needs to be around the bitchy women who only speak Portuguese and who will hate her for how young and skinny she is." he explained. I laughed as I poured the orange juice into the pitcher and looked at him.

"God Dallas is lucky to have you." I said with a grin.

"And you are lucky to have your husband." he said before hugging me. "Do not fret." I sighed into the hug before I nodded. He let go of me and I smiled before we both went back to the table. After breakfast and sending the girls upstairs to Felipe and Dallas' Dallas paused before leaving to give me a long hug.

"When you're all better, we're going out like we used to."

"Like we used to?" I asked.

"So we won't pick anyone up, but we're going out, and we're getting drunk and we're having fun." he said and I laughed.

"Whatever you say." I said with a laugh before he kissed my cheek quickly and then went upstairs with his boyfriend and my children.

"Here, let me help." Bruce said as I cleared the table. "Have you called your mother?"

"No." I said after a pause. I had decided the night before that I would call my mother today before going to the SHIELD hospital.

"You should go do that." he reminded me.

"Speaking of mothers, I was thinking-"

"About Amanda, I know." he cut me off and I looked at him curiously. "Jarvis told me." he said. "Go call your mom."

"But it just makes it too real." I said and he nodded.

"I understand. Now go call her." he told me and I sighed darkly before putting down the plates and taking the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom," I said into the phone, biting my lip.

"Tabby?"

"Uh, other irresponsible daughter." I said with a laugh.

"Sammy, honey, how are you?" she asked and I smiled.

"Oh so Abby isn't irresponsible at all?" I asked and she laughed.

"Oh please honey, Abby's so uptight Irresponsible is a dirty word in her house." she informed me.

"And yet her and Rik get along so well, and if he were a mutant he would be Captain Irresponsible."

"Well with his perpetual mohawk, we're not too sure he isn't a mutant." she joked and I laughed. "So what's up sweetie?"

"Nothing, nothing, I just thought I'd call and say hi." I replied.

"Well you're lucky, your dad is running late today." she said.

"I don't want to make him even more late." I said even though I totally did.

"Hey Sparky!" he said into the phone and I smiled.

"Hey Dad. What's got the impeccable inner clock of Nate Strong running late?" I asked.

"I was up late with the horses last night." he replied and I bit my lip.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine, Sonny's horse Isis gave birth last night." he said and I laughed lightly.

"Wow, that's amazing." I said with a grin. "What is it?"

"It's a boy." he replied.

"What'd you name him?"

"Not sure yet. Got any ideas?" he asked and I thought for a moment.

"How about Apollo?" I asked.

"The Greek god of Healing?" he asked and I stayed silent. "Is there something you want to tell us?" he asked.

"Why don't you ask me in a few days?" I replied.

"Whatever you say Sparky," he said and I smiled. "Just remember, we love you, no matter what. And if SHIELD has something to do with this-"

"Dad, don't worry, okay? I'll call you in a few days, I promise."

"Okay." he said and I smiled. "I'm not gonna question you. Just remember, we're here." he replied. "Now I gotta go, Apollo's got a date with the vet." he explained and I smiled.

"Okay Daddy." I said. "I love you."

"I love you too Sparky." he replied before handing the phone to my mom. We talked for a few more minutes and then hung up.

"You ready?" Bruce asked as I thought about the conversation.

"Yeah." I nodded. I stood up and he held my jacket out for me. I slipped my arms into it and turned to kiss his cheek gently. He smiled as he took my glove clad hand for what was hopefully the last time, and gave it a light squeeze.

* * *

"Director Banner?" one of the nurses at the medical wing of the SHIELD headquarters asked and I looked at her. "Are you ready ma'am?" she asked and I nodded. I had changed into a hospital gown that rather than tying in the back wrapped all the way around, and died on the side, almost like a wrap dress, but it was still pretty ugly. "Um, come with me then please." she said and gestured to the wheelchair she had brought.

"Is the wheelchair necessary?" I asked.

"Its policy." she shrugged and I sighed before nodding.

"Alright, fine." I said as I sat in the wheelchair. She started to push me down the hall and paused momentarily when I held up my hand seeing Natasha, Clint, Thor, Tony, Peter and Steve there. "Give us a sec Holly." I said to the nurse who nodded and I stood up. "Nothing about what I'm wearing or I swear to god any one of you could have their next mission in the most uncomfortable place I can think of."

"You mean aside from inside that dress?" Tony asked and I punched him on the arm, making him wince. "Nice swing kiddo." he said with a smile. "But is there really no love for the guy who helped make this stress fest you're going through possible?" he asked and I thought for a moment before punching him again. "Fair enough." he said and I smiled before hugging him. "Ah, there it is." he said and I laughed. I let go of him and he smiled before he ruffled my hair.

"God I hate it when you do that." I muttered and he smiled before ruffling my hair hardly with both hands. I shot him a look before trying to flatten my hair, and looking at Thor who instantly pulled me into a bone crushing hug. "Oh god Thor." I groaned before he let go of me. I stumbled back slightly and smiled at him.

"There are no doubts in my mind this will be a successful endeavor." he said to me and I nodded.

"Thanks Thor." I smiled.

"Min," Clint said and I looked at him. "The girls are with Dallas and Felipe right?" he asked and I nodded. "I'll keep an eye on the building." he promised and I hugged him.

"See you in a few days huh?" I asked Natasha who nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." she said.

"Good, because I have an idea for our first mission when I wake up." I told her and she smiled.

"It's been fun hanging out with you." Peter said with a grin and I groaned.

"That was so bad." I said and he smiled innocently.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'll uh, swing by when you wake up."

"Oh god, please stop." I laughed and he grinned before holding out his fist. I shook my head with a laugh and bumped my fist against his.

"Minnie, I'm sorry about what I said." Steve said to me and I smiled up at him.

"It's okay, we were all emotional." I replied. "I probably shouldn't have yelled at you the way I did either. So I'm sorry as well." I said before I gave him a quick hug. "Well," I said clapping my hands together, even though they were still gloved. "I'll see you on the other side." I smiled and Holly walked back over to me. I sat down in the wheelchair and she wheeled me to the room I'd be in for the next few days.

"Minnie," Dr. Payne was saying to me. "We're putting you in a medically induced coma so while the drug reverses the effects of what changed you, you won't be in pain. Do you have any questions?"

"Is it weird all I can concentrate on is the fact that your name is Payne, and you're a doctor?"

"Frankly, I'd be more concerned if you _weren't_ concentrating on that." he replied and I smiled.

"Then we're good." I said with a grin. He smiled and looked at Bruce who held the needle.

"This is what's going to reverse the effects." Bruce informed me. "We have to do it like last time, you'll be in pain for a moment, but then we'll introduce the drugs to your system, okay?" Bruce asked and I nodded.

"Bring it on." I said and he smiled as Dr. Payne hooked an IV into my left arm.

Bruce stood on my right side, and carefully slipped the needle into my arm and injected me with the serum. He pulled the needle from my arm and sat down on the side of the bed. I looked at him and smiled lightly before the pain started creeping through my arm, down my arm and into my fingers, and then through my entire body.

I felt my grip on Bruce's hand tighten and he looked at Dr. Payne who injected my IV with whatever drug they were using to put me under. I bit my lip and Bruce smiled softly. I cupped his face and he leaned down to kiss me gently.

He pulled back and I felt an overwhelming feeling of darkness take me over.

I shut my eyes, and concentrated on his hand holding mine.

* * *

I don't remember dreaming. I don't remember falling asleep, I remember holding Bruce's hand, then the next thing I remembered was being in the hospital room, the steady beep of the heart monitor to my left, and the sounds outside of the room. I opened my eyes, and slowly sat up.

Bruce was sitting in a chair, leaning against the side of the bed with a book it his lap. It was obvious he had fallen asleep while reading, his glasses were slightly askew and I smiled as I reached down and took them off. Someone had taken my gloves off while I was unconscious; I folded his glasses, not noticing him sitting up as I stared at my hands, unsure if it had worked or not.

I jumped when Bruce took my hand in his and looked at him as he moved from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed, facing me. He smiled lightly as he pulled a small light from his pocket and checked my eyes, then checked my pulse and a few other things, before he brushed the hair from my eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and I smiled lightly.

"How should I feel?" I asked.

"Hopefully not tired." He said and I smiled, before biting my lip. He looked down at my hands before he took mine in his again, lacing our fingers together. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, smiling.

"How's the other guy doing?" I asked and he chuckled lightly.

"He's surprisingly calm." He replied.

"He isn't throwing a fit?" I asked and he shook his head. "No headaches?" he shook his head again. "Does that mean it- It worked?" I asked and he just smiled.

"It would seem so." He replied and I smiled as I sat up and went to throw my arms around him, but stopped when I remembered the IV in my arm. He laughed lightly and leaned in, catching my lips with his, for the first time in a long time, neither of us were worried.

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_**I know you guys have been waiting for that, so there you go. I hope it's everything you've wanted it to be! **_

_**Please don't forget to review!** _


	48. Chapter 48

_**Hey ya'll, just wanted to say, this is a short one, but I think you'll love it! **_

_**Disclaimer: Everything the light touches is ours- No wait, that's the Lion King... Uh, where was I? Oh, right, OC's are mine (Unless of course, Marvel is interested in using them in their movies...) and everything you recognize, not from my stories, belongs to Marvel.** _

* * *

I took Bruce's hand in mine and looked at him with a smile. He smiled back as he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it sweetly. I was happy neither of us was driving, because it allowed us to lean over and kiss each other quickly. "God you guys, PDA much?" Tony asked and Pepper hit his arm.

"Ignore him, I think it's sweet." Pepper said before glaring at Tony who rubbed his shoulder, but winked at me all the same.

"You sure you want to do this?" I asked Amanda who looked at me and then nodded.

"I don't see it ending any other way." she paused. "Unless you don't want to, I mean, I- I understand-"

"Stop right there, you've picked up some of your father's traits, don't let the frequent pity parties be one of them." I said as I put my hand on Bruce's chest. He rolled his eyes before he wrapped his arm around Amanda's shoulder, he was sitting in the back seat of a van between both me and Amanda, Pepper and Bruce were sitting in the middle row, and Happy and one of his lawyers sat in the front.

"Face it kiddo." he said looking at Amanda who smiled. "After today, you're gonna be stuck with us."

"I can think of worse people to be stuck with." she said and he laughed before the car pulled to a stop.

"This it?" Happy turned around and looked at Amanda who nodded as she looked at where we had stopped.

"This is it." she sighed. Happy got out of the car and opened the door for Tony and Pepper; I slipped out next followed by Bruce and lastly Amanda. She stood in the front yard of her old home, the place she had grown up and smiled lightly. "It's so weird to think- After everything that's happened..." she looked at me and I nodded.

"I know." I said and she let out a small laugh before she ran a hand through her hair. "Nervous?" I asked and she nodded.

"We're right here." Bruce told her and she smiled before hugging me tightly, and then doing the same to Bruce.

"Hate to break it up, but we've been spotted by the locals." Tony said from behind his colored sunglasses. Amanda pulled away from Bruce and looked at the old couple next door who were watching us.

"What, you've never seen a girl hug the people who care about her before?" she asked and the old couple looked offended before closing their door.

"You've been spending too much time with your uncle Tony." Bruce muttered.

"I heard that!" Tony called. Amanda just grinned and walked up to the front door. She pushed the doorbell while I walked up behind her and everyone else walked over. The door opened a moment later and the man I assumed, by the way Amanda tensed up and stopped smiling, was Amanda's father looked down at us.

"What do you want?" he asked and Amanda straightened up.

"To talk." she said and he stared down at us.

"Who's all this?" he asked and she looked back at us before looking to him.

"My family." she replied before crossing her arms over her chest. "You gonna let us in?" she asked and he sighed before he pushed open the screen door. She took it and held it open, stepping into the house. We all followed after her and he looked over me and Bruce.

"You two the ones who took her in?" he asked and I walked over to him.

"My name's Simone Banner, this is my husband, Bruce." I said as I stuck my hand out. He stared at it for a moment, before he reluctantly shook my hand.

"You know how to deal with... Them?" he asked and I smiled tightly before looking at Bruce who cleared his throat.

"Well we already have one daughter, so we know how girls can be." Bruce nodded and I smiled as I touched his shoulder.

"She told you didn't she?"

"I knew about it before you found out." Bruce said to him and he frowned.

"You're that chemistry teacher, the one who lost it." he said and Bruce chuckled lightly.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he muttered to me and I nodded.

"Look, long story short, you kicked her out, we took her in, either way she's coming home with us today, but we'd prefer if when she did, legally, we had parental rights." I said and he frowned as the lawyer stepped forward and pulled the papers from his briefcase.

"Hi, Tony Stark, new uncle of this _very_ lucky little girl," he introduced himself and Amanda Pepper and I rolled our eyes. "This is my lawyer, I call him lawyer, and he has written up the adoption papers. Basically, all _you_ need to do is _sign_." Tony explained and the lawyer, Tom was his name, rolled his eyes as well before pulling a pen out.

"Why would I want to do that?" Amanda's father, Vincent, asked.

"Why wouldn't you?" Amanda asked.

"Lotta questions being asked. Mostly about where you are. People round here think I killed you."

"So, what, you'll make me stay here, make my life miserable by keeping me here? Now that you know what I am, do you really want me under your roof?" she asked and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Better than folk askin' questions." he scowled.

"Look," I said and Vincent looked at me sharply. "She's happy with us, she's got a good life, she goes to a good school, she's happy. It's more than you can say for her."

"I'm her father." he said as he stepped up in front of me.

"Then why didn't you act like one?" I asked, not breaking eye contact with him.

"You gonna let your wife talk like that?" he looked at Bruce, looking semi amused, and really annoyed.

"See, that's the thing, I don't _let_ my wife do anything. It's called free will, she's got it, Amanda's got it, we've all got it. And I love the fact that my wife exercises her right to it." he said. "That's a good think about living in America."

"That's another thing, I traveled, I saw things, I rode a horse!" Amanda said with a grin. "I've got grandparents in California, and a MeeMaw, and a sister." she said and he looked at her.

"You want these people to adopt you?"

"More than anything."

"What would you call 'em? They ain't your parents."

"Yes they are." she said and I smiled as I looked at Bruce. He gave my hand a slight squeeze and Vince sat down at the table.

"Lawyer," he beckoned him over. "Show me what I have to do again." he said and Tom walked over to him.

"Did you keep any of my stuff?" Amanda asked.

"In the room." he replied gruffly. I followed Amanda to her old bedroom, as did Pepper and she opened the door.

"God." she muttered. The room was trashed. She sighed and picked up a lamp and put it on the desk.

"What do you want to take?" I asked and she looked around the room, before she opened the desk drawer. She took everything out and pulled out a false bottom. "You've got to show me how to do that, and if you do that to the antique desk in your room, I am so grounding you." I told her and she laughed.

"Don't worry, I trust you more than I've ever trusted him." she said with a grin. She held up a journal and slipped it into a backpack. She took a small wooden box, and a small jewelry box, and a metal box full of pictures.

"That's it?" I asked and she nodded.

"That's it." she replied before we walked back to the kitchen. Vincent was singing papers, Tony was texting someone, probably the pilot, and Bruce was standing in the kitchen with Vincent and Tom.

"Happy, will you throw this into the car please?" Pepper asked as she handed the backpack to him.

"No problem." he said and Vincent stood up quickly.

"What do you think you're taking?" he asked quickly.

"Nothing of any importance to you." Amanda said as Bruce stepped in front of Vincent's path.

"You want to get out of my way?" Vincent asked Bruce lowly and Bruce smiled lightly.

"I know you hit your daughter before and I'm starting to really want you to make me." he said equally as lowly and Tony looked over.

"Yeah, gonna go on the record and say, as much as I love it when that happens, probably best if you just back down." Tony said to Vincent who was glaring at Bruce.

"It's not often I actually say this, but listen to Mr. Stark." Tom said to Vincent. "You really wouldn't like this guy when he's angry."

"I ain't never backed down from a fight." Vincent said to Bruce and I stepped forward.

"Vince, remember the alien that attacked the school? Reports said it was big and green, right?" I asked. "Think back a few years, aliens attack New York. There was footage of a big green creature destroying an entire leviathan with one punch."

"Hey, I helped!" Tony protested.

"My _point_ is; you really want to start a fight with the big green guy?" I asked and Vincent looked Bruce over before he looked away.

"And you expect me to just give my daughter to that thing?" he asked.

"If you don't, Mrs. Banner is the head of a very powerful government organization, who works with people like Dr. Banner, like Iron Man, she's friends with gods, assassins, and mutants alike." Tom spoke up. "And all of them are friends with your daughter. You think there's questions about her now, just imagine the questions you'll get when they all come over for visits, because they will come to see her."

"That's the thing about families," I said and he looked at me. "We don't give up on each other." Vincent sighed deeply before he turned back to the table and finished signing.

"Okay, Dr. Banner, Mrs. Banner, I need you to sign these." Tom said and we went over and signed the copies where he told us. "Vince, your copies." Tom said as he handed the copies to Vincent. "And Mrs. Banner, these are for you, I'll hold onto them."

"Thank you Tom." I smiled.

"They'll go in front of a judge on Monday." Tom said and I smiled before looking at Amanda who hugged me tightly, and then hugged Bruce.

"We won't take up any more of your time." Pepper said to Vincent who nodded curtly. We walked out of the house and went to the car before Amanda stopped and looked at Happy who was still holding her backpack.

"Happy, can I see that for a sec?" she asked and he nodded, handing over the backpack. She opened it and pulled the box of pictures out before finding a particular picture. "Hey Tom, can I borrow your pen?" she asked and he handed it over. She wrote on the back of the picture before walking back over to Vincent and holding out the picture. He took it after a moment's hesitation. "I can't change who I am, and I can't change who you are, or how you feel about me, but if you ever decide you want to admit to having had a daughter, that's where you can reach me. Maybe I'll talk to you someday." she said simply before turning around and walking back to the car. She got in and I smiled at her.

* * *

Three days after our case went up to the judge, Amanda was legally ours. The day after that we sent her back to Xavier's, which she loved, she was dying to go back to school. "I always knew I'd have to send my daughter away to school, I just never thought it would be so soon." I sighed to Bruce as we lay in bed together the first night she was gone.

"Well, as I've told you before, you're not old enough to be the mother of an almost seventeen year old, but you're an amazing mother to that girl." he said and I smiled before I leaned in and kissed him. He responded by wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in closer. I cupped his face gently, opening my mouth slightly as he deepened our kiss, his other hand slowly started to slide up my pajama top, leaving a trail of goosebumps across my skin as it moved north.

"Mommy!" I heard Kayla shriek from the other side of the house. I sighed as we broke the kiss. He groaned as he dropped his head slightly, and then let go of me.

"Time to keep being that amazing mother you married." I smiled and he grinned as I got out of bed.

After soothing Kayla who was upset about Amanda leaving, I had to sing three Elvis songs, and a Muppets song and read her a book, and get her a glass of water before she finally fell asleep again. When she did I turned on her nightlight and shut the door before I went back to bed, I climbed into bed with Bruce who instantly pulled me over to him, making me laugh lightly, and rest my head on his shoulder.

"You work tomorrow?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah Tony needs help with his new design for his suit." he explained and I nodded, before looking up at him.

"I love you." I said softly and he smiled before kissing me again, and I laid back on his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him before falling asleep.

Things were finally starting to get back to- our definition of- normal. Even if "Normal" meant our adopted daughter was at a school for mutants, our biological daughter was most likely going to follow after her father in some way, her father was what people referred to as the Hulk, who worked with Tony Stark developing whatever it was Tony wanted to work on developing that day.

That was normal, and I was happy to have it back.

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**_Just thought I should let you know, there are two more chapters to this story, then I'll get to posting my next story, still haven't decided if it'll be my Hawkeye story, or my Captain America story. Probably the Hawkeye one, I'll let you know by the last chapter of this story though, so, even though the phrase freaks me out, keep your eyes peeled for the next two chapters! (I only use that phrase because it's October and it's a creepy phrase)_**

**_Please don't forget to review!_ **


	49. Chapter 49

_**Hey ya'll! Well, one chapter left, I have loved writing this story so much. Well, in this chapter it kind of earns it's M rating (At the end if you want to skip over it.) **_

_**Disclaimer: I totally own the Avengers. I own an Avenger cup, I own an Avenger lunchbox, I own a Hulk bobble head, and I own no life. I spend my time writing. And I love it.** _

* * *

Time went by. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Kayla turned four, Amanda turned seventeen, I didn't talk about how old I was about to turn. I stepped down as the director of SHIELD and Fury took it back, while I went back to work at Stark Industries. It was funny, the way some of the partners looked at me, seeing as most of them went along with Norman Osborn. I would just smile, do my job and report back to Tony. It was like none of it ever happened, which was an interesting thought.

"I thought I might find you here." I looked up from my desk at Nick Fury who was currently standing in my doorway.

"Well it _is_ my office." I said as I stood up. He walked into the office and I shook his hand. "How are you Director?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'm not going to lie-"

"That's a first." I said and he shot me a look. "Sorry, been working with Tony a lot today, it's hard to get out of that mind set." I shrugged and he nodded. "Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"Lots of cream lots of sugar please." he said and I nodded as I went to the coffee pot in my office and poured him a cup of coffee and mixed it up for him, and brought it back.

"So, what's going on?" I asked.

"I'm stepping down." he said and I raised my eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" I asked in surprise.

"I think it's time, I need to step down." he nodded.

"Wow, uh... _Wow_." I laughed and shook my head. "That's... Is it good?" I asked and he nodded with a small smile.

"It's right." he said and I nodded.

"So, you want me to tell Tony, or break it to my MeeMaw, or what?" I asked.

"I want you to take over." he said and for a moment I thanked whatever deity told me not to drink my coffee, because if I had been drinking I'd have either;

A, spit it all over myself,

B, choked; or

C, all of the above.

Probably C.

"What, you want me to- What?!" I asked and he nodded.

"You were a good leader when I was gone, a good wartime leader is hard to find, and you kept your head, even when keeping your head was damn near impossible."

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, I'm Possible; having said that, I find myself wondering if it's possible you've suffered from a stroke?" I asked and he shook his head. "Are you sure? You don't smell anything burning or something, do you?" I asked and he rolled his- Eye.

"You're a natural leader, you know what you're doing, you know who you can trust, and most of all; they listen to you." he said and I nodded dumbly as I listened to him. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's in your blood." he told me and I just stared at the desk.

"I agreed last time because we were in war, but, uh, we're not at war anymore. I have no idea what it is you do when we aren't at war, what- how- Are you going to train me?" I asked and he waited until I finished freaking out.

"Coulson is staying on, Hill is staying on, you will not be alone." he promised me.

"Can I think about it?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'd think quickly though, Agent Hardwell is pushing for Jerome Winters to take over."

"Agent Hardwell is extorting the financial department." I muttered and Fury raised his eyebrow.

"And Winters knows about it?"

"Winters is taking a cut, yeah, but he's a fall guy, Hardwell is the brains behind the operation, Winters just does whatever Hardwell says." I replied. "I put Agents Bricker and Issacs on the case, they're keeping a pretty close eye on the two of them, they should be reporting back sometime soon." I explained as I ran a hand through my hair. "If not, call one of them into your office and ask them about Operation Snowflake."

"Operation Snowflake?" he asked and I smiled lightly. "See, that's proof, you're good at this job." he said and I nodded softly.

"Can I tell you like... Tomorrow?" I asked and he nodded. "Should I go down to SHIELD?" I asked.

"SHIELD, tomorrow, three o'clock." he said and I nodded.

"I'll see you then." I told him and he left. After he left I sighed deeply before going to Lab 12. Dallas was doing his usual answering the phone and putting people on hold until I walked in.

"What's up Buttercup?" he asked with a smile.

"The boys in the lab?"

"Actually, they're in the basement lab, testing phases." he said and I nodded.

"Thanks." I said before I walked to the elevator and took it down to the second basement. I stepped out of the elevator and smiled as I saw Tony holding out a repulsar, the wires connecting to the Arc Reactor in his chest, before shooting out a pulse blast, shattering the target he had set up.

"Hey!" I called to him and he turned around. "Have you seen my husband?"

"Have I seen him? Once or twice." he shrugged and I rolled my eyes.

"Where is he?" I asked and he smirked lightly.

"Does this have to do with your little meeting with Nick Fury?" he asked. "Did you piss him off? Please tell me he's furious." he pleaded and I shook my head with a smile.

"Where's my husband?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because we're planning on having another child and I'm ovulating right now." I said and he stared at me for a long moment.

"Well, the cat's out of the bag." Bruce said from the doorway.

"Oh, there you are, come on, ovulating, let's go." I said as I walked over and grabbed his hand, before pulling him into the elevator.

"Not in the elevator!" Tony shouted.

"More children?" Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow, and then leaned down to kiss me deeply.

"You really want more kids?" I asked and he chuckled as he moved his lips down to kiss my neck.

"Well I wouldn't mind trying a couple of times." he said and I laughed before cupping his face, and pushing him back slightly. "So why do you need me?" he asked and the elevator stopped at my floor.

"Come with me." I said as I took his hand and led him to my office. "Nick Fury was just here." I told him and he nodded.

"Yeah, Jarvis told us. Tony tried to shove me into a secret room." he rolled his eyes. "What, was he bugging you?"

"Well, uh, he offered me a job." I said with a small laugh.

"What job?"

"His job." I replied and he stared down at me for a moment.

"Did you take it?" he asked finally and I shook my head.

"Not yet, no." I said.

"But you're going to?"

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do honey." I said. "That's why I'm here, talking to you."

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

"I don't know Bruce," I said slightly exasperated. "I mean, I can't just be a personal assistant for the rest of my life!"

"You love this job." he pointed out and I nodded.

"That's true, but SHIELD, it's my family's company."

"No, Minnie, it's not just some family company, it's not like your family started a restaurant back in the day and now you've got to take it or it's going to go under, this is a branch of the government, a very secret branch that exists to make people's lives hell."

"But it wasn't always like that. When we were in trouble, SHIELD was there, and knowing the people that are up to take Fury's job aside from me, I know that they would run it into the ground."

"So, what, you take over so that someone else won't?" he asked.

"No... I don't know." I replied. "Maybe."

"Well whatever you decide, make sure you let me know." he said and I shook my head.

"Honey, I want you to help me decide." I said as I wrapped my arms around his middle. "I can't do it alone." I looked up at him and he sighed as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and put his other hand on my hip. He dipped his head down and gently caught my lips between his. I moaned lightly into the kiss and continued to kiss him, lifting my hand to run through his thick curls.

"Mrs. Banner?" Jarvis suddenly asked.

"Yeah?" I asked as I broke away from Bruce.

"I apologize, but Mr. Franklin is here."

"Oh right, him." I muttered.

"Who?" Bruce asked and I shook my head.

"Just a development meeting Tony asked me to get rid of, this guy used to work for Hammer Industries and the idiot, Shelby, made him a meeting."

"We don't hire anyone who worked with Justin Hammer?" he asked.

"We don't want anyone who worked for Justin Hammer." I corrected him. "Nothing Hammer developed worked, and that's not what we need at Stark Industries." I explained.

"Well, have fun getting out of the meeting." he replied.

"Have fun blowing stuff up with the repulsar." I said and he chuckled before he kissed me again and left, letting me straighten my shirt and get ready to talk Tony out of a meeting.

* * *

That night we had dinner with Tony and Pepper at the mansion when Pepper brought up something. "You two never had a honeymoon, did you?" she asked and Bruce and I looked at each other before he shook his head.

"Uh, no, we didn't." he replied.

"We didn't really have clearance to leave Nadine much." I explained as I lifted my glass of wine to my lips.

"Clearance?" Tony asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, if um, if we left, Coulson would usually call me flipping out about how I needed to clear these things so they could keep a better eye on us, that sort of thing." I explained.

"Not that there was much outside of Nadine."

"Or in it." I sighed and he chuckled.

"Well Minnie, your birthday is coming up, what are you guys doing?"

"It's a surprise." Bruce said and I looked at him curiously.

"What surprise?" I asked and he smiled.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." he said and I frowned lightly, but smiled. After dinner the boys were off in the basement or something while I helped clear up the table with Pepper.

"What could he be planning?" Pepper asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know. Oh, maybe we're going to my favorite Italian place in the village." I said with a grin.

"Which one?"

"Angelo's." I replied with a sigh.

"Oh man." she nodded in agreement. "That tomato sauce." we both sighed at the thought of it and then snapped out of it, finishing clearing up.

"Bruce," Tony said saying to his friend- arguably, his best friend, as they worked on an idea Tony had for his new suit. "What's the one thing Minnie wants in the world?"

"Uh, aside from never getting split ends?" he asked and sighed. "To travel more."

"You guys never had a honeymoon, as Pepper pointed out tonight. That's no fun, that's where a couple is supposed to have all the fun in the world."

"Minnie and I have plenty of fun."

"Yeah, in New York. Or California, or Canada, or wherever else you guys are hiding from the world. Look buddy, I just want you two to have a good time together. Take some time, have a little R&R and recharge your batteries." Tony said as he put down the screwdriver he was using and looked Bruce in the eye.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I am not suggesting anything." Tony said. "I am telling you that you two are taking the jet to Paris, where you'll stay in my apartment on the West Bake for two weeks, and then for Minnie's birthday you'll take the jet to Dubai where we'll have a party and stay for another two weeks." Tony explained simply and Bruce stared at him blankly. "This is the part where you agree."

"I thought you needed me at the tower."

"Yeah I need you there, because it keeps you from going elsewhere. I don't want you running off to Calcutta, or Guadalajara, or Mallawi or something." Tony said and Bruce chuckled lightly.

"I'm not running off anymore Tony." he promised.

"Yeah, that's what you said after Loki, but what did you do, you ran off for nine months." Tony muttered.

"Tony, I'm not going anywhere." Bruce said and Tony nodded.

"Course not. Except for Paris and Dubai of course, no use saying no, I've already planned the party, and Minnie's always wanted to go to Paris." Tony said and Bruce smiled lightly. "I know that smile, that's your, "I'm about to go along with what Tony says" smile."

"For once Tony's got something that makes sense to go along with." Bruce replied and Tony grinned. "Do I tell her?"

"Well if you don't, she may figure it out on the way there." Tony shrugged and Bruce nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Are you taking the job?" Bruce asked me later that night as we lay in bed together. I was laying my head on his shoulder like I normally did, and looked up at him when he asked.

"I think so." I replied. "At least until I can find someone better to replace me." I told him and he nodded as he looked down at me.

"When do you start?"

"I don't know. Soon probably."

"I think you should wait." Bruce replied and I sighed as I rested my chin on his chest, still looking at him. He lightly started to run his fingers through my hair before he cleared his throat, I could feel his chest rumble slightly under my chin when he did. "Because Two weeks before your birthday, we're flying to Paris, and staying in Tony's apartment on the West Bank, before going to Dubai, where we'll spend another two weeks." he informed me and I stared at him in shock. "Babe? Did you hear m-" he was cut off by me pressing my lips to his quickly, he laughed through the kiss as I climbed on top of him, straddling his hips as I leaned over him, kissing him feverishly.

"You're serious?" I asked him a moment later and he nodded.

"I know you've always wanted to go to France. And now that you're cured, what better time than now?" he told me and I smiled, biting my lip, before I bent down and kissed him again.

He sat up, continuing to kiss me as my fingers found the bottom of his shirt, I pulled it up, and he broke the kiss momentarily to pull his shirt over his head, and then do the same to mine, he grabbed his EpiPen and plunged it into his arm, and pressed the release and then put it back on the bedside table, before pulling me back over him, his lips traced down my neck, he planted small kisses as he went, his hands slid down my body easily, before catching the waistband of my pajama shorts.

I straightened up and let him slide them down my legs before lying back, and pulling him down on top of me. He slid his hands up my thighs, before pushing them apart slowly, I ran a hand through his thick hair as he kicked off his pajama pants and then met my lips with his again before slowly making his way down my body, planting small kisses all the way down.

My breathing deepened as I gripped the sheets in my hands, arching my hips and moaning his name. He paused for a moment, resting his forehead against my right thigh, before he kissed it, I looked down at him and he smiled at me. "You getting a little too excited?" I asked and he nodded, making me reach out for him. He took my hands in his and I pulled him back up, before pushing him back on the bed.

I got on top of him and continued to hold his hands as I slid down onto him. He let out an involuntary shutter and moan as I did, raising his hips as I pulled back. It took us a minute to get a steady rhythm going, but when we did I felt him let go of my hands, slide his hands onto my things to keep me in place.

It wasn't long before I threw my head back in ecstasy, moaning his name loudly, before he pulled me down against his chest, I kissed him as he rolled us both over, and continued to move until he buried his face in my neck, moaning into my shoulder. We both lay there for a moment, held tightly in each others arms before he moved off of me and I looked at him, running my fingers through his hair again. I drew his face to mine and kissed him once more before letting him wrap his arms around me and holding me close.

"I love you so much." I whispered as he stroked my hair.

"I love you too." he replied softly.

I laid my head over his heard and smiled as I listened to it beating away, the constant rhythm lulling me to sleep.

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_**Hope you liked it! **_

_**Please don't forget to review!** _


	50. Chapter 50

_**Okay everyone, this is the last chapter! Wow, I can't believe I made it to 50 this time, I had only planned 45! I hope you've all enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you! I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who has reviewed over time, and who's constant support has what kept me going through this time. I want to thank everyone who has supported me since the beginning, and those who have prayed for me in my moments of hard times. Thank you everyone! **_

_**Disclaimer: I wish...** _

* * *

Paris was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. From the Eiffel tower to the Parc de la Villette, walking along the banks, fresh bread every day, everything, it was so picture perfect, like something out of a movie. Something out of the best movie.

And two short weeks later, it was over. Because Tony had to use the company jet, we decided Bruce would take a shot off of his EpiPen and we would fly first class, and try to keep him in a stress free environment until we got to the house in Dubai, where he could Hulk out on the beach to his heart's desire.

We could only get a flight with a layover in Cairo. When we got to Cairo, we stepped out of the plane and immediately two official looking men stopped us.

"Mrs. Banner?" one of them asked and I nodded hesitantly.

"Come with us please." the other ordered, rather than asked, and led us along. I could see people stopping to stare, until we got to a doorway. They led us down a windowless hall, past doors that led to I don't know where. I looked at Bruce who walked along next to me and I slipped my hand into his, making him look at me, and then smile reassuringly before kissing my temple.

"Mrs. Banner," the second guard said when we stopped in front of a door. "You go in here." he ordered and I looked at the door.

"I'm bringing my husband."

"You are ordered to go alone." the first guard said and I bit the inside of my cheek, before looking at Bruce who was doing one of his breathing exercises.

"I don't like it." he said softly and I nodded.

"I know." I replied before I kissed him lightly. "Remember Hawkeye's rule number one." I muttered in his ear. Because we had government badges we were able to get through security without going through metal detectors, and I had learned to be ready for anything at this point.

"Remember what I told you last night." he whispered back and I smiled before dropping my smile, and walking through the door.

* * *

The night before Bruce and I decided to take our final walk through Paris at night. With everything all lit up and amazing looking we were walking through Wonderland. Everything was bright and new, and awe inspiring. As we walked together, hand in hand, I couldn't help but look at him, my husband. He looked at me and smiled and I grinned as he let go of my hand so he could wrap his arm around my shoulders. We got to the large fountain and we sat down on the side of it.

"I'm so sad we have to leave tomorrow." I sighed. "Can't we send for the girls, and just stay here forever?" I asked and he laughed.

"Now there's a thought." he said and I smiled. "Of course, what would happen if the other guy were to come out?" he asked and I sighed.

"There is always that." I sighed. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to move to the south of France. There's much more open space for him there." I nodded and he laughed.

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out." he said and I nodded.

"Of course I do." I said and I stood up. He caught my hand and I looked at him as he pulled me back to where he was sitting. I looked down at him and gently stroked his face, making him look up at me. I ran my fingers through his hair, and he smiled as he looked up at me.

"Are you happy here?"

"Of course." I said with a smile. "Are you?"

"It's beautiful," he stood up and gently cupped my face, "You're beautiful, you're glowing." he said and I smiled widely. I started to open my mouth, and he pressed his finger to my lips. "Wait." he said softly. "I just want to say, this is our last night here, and I want you to know, here, that you are perfect." he said softly and I smiled. "I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone again, after my... After the other guy."

"Bruce-"

"Let me finish." he said and I nodded. "You gave me what I never thought I could have, and even when my existence threatened our way of living, you stepped up, you took charge and you showed the world that you weren't scared of it, or the other guy, or anything." he laughed and I bit my bottom lip. "And now I'm here with you, and I've been all over the world, I've seen it at its best, and I've seen it at its worst, but the best, has always, and will always be wherever you are." he continued and I swallowed as tears started welling up in my eyes. "You're amazing." he finished and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into the most perfect kiss I had ever had.

* * *

"Phil, what the fuck?" I sighed when I stepped into the room the guards at the Cairo airport had ordered me into.

"Good to see you too Director."

"Phil, I'm on my honeymoon!" I whined as I stood in the room, near the door.

"Your honeymoon just ended, you're on your way to your birthday celebration." he contradicted me.

"Either way, I shouldn't be having this meeting with you! I should be on my way to Dubai where I will have a very big alcoholic drink and lay by the pool!"

"We found some information that may- that will- interest you." he said and I sighed darkly before nodding.

"What did you find?" I asked and he gestured to the chair in front of him. I walked over to it and sat down, and he opened a file before handing it to me.

"When Bruce was first turned into the Hulk he ran away to Brazil, which you know," he told me and I nodded. "When he was there, he corresponded with a Cellular Biologist named Dr. Samuel Sterns, he sent Dr. Sterns a sample of his blood, and Dr. Sterns condensed and synthesized the blood samples. We thought we had destroyed all of the samples, well someone just popped up on our radar claiming not only to have the blood sample Leona took back in Nadine, but that last bag of synthesized blood." he explained as I read the file.

"Do you think it's Sterns?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Sterns was the one who turned Blonsky into the Abomination. We found his blood, mixed with your husband's blood on the floor of the lab, but we didn't find Sterns." he explained. "We think he may have been exposed to the blood, and we think he may be the one selling those samples."

"Where is he?" I asked and he flipped to the next page of the report. I looked it over and then looked back at him. He slid a black box across the table to me and I opened it up.

"Adamantium." he clarified as I picked up the specially designed arrow head. "Seemed to work for the Abomination."

"So it did." I muttered and I looked at him before nodding.

"Is that all Coulson?" I asked and he nodded.

"That's all Director." he replied and I nodded as I stood up.

"Will I see you in Dubai?" I asked and he smiled as he shook his head.

"No, someone needs to hold down the fort while you're gone."

"Right," I nodded. "Also, uh, any word on that thing I asked you to look into, for Peter?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'll have the report ready for you when you get home." he looked at his watch. "Looks like you've got a plane to catch." he said and I looked at my watch before nodding.

"So I do." I muttered before I smiled and gave him a handshake.

"I'll see you soon."

"You'll probably be getting my report sooner." I replied and he smiled. I put the arrowhead and the folder into my carryon bag before I walked out of the room and gestured to the guards who walked us back out of the labyrinth of hallways.

"What happened?" Bruce asked and I smiled innocently at him. "Was that Coulson?"

"As an active member of SHIELD I can neither deny nor affirm the location of any such employee." I said and he rolled his eyes. "But as his boss, yeah, that was Coulson." I finished and he laughed.

"What the hell does he want?"

"He just wanted to fill me in on an ongoing investigation." I replied, as I slipped my hand into Bruce's. He took it and held it as we were led straight to the front of the line at our gate, and let onto the airplane.

When we got to Dubai I was so happy to see Amanda and Kayla waiting at the airport with Happy.

"Mommy, Daddy!" Kayla shrieked as she ran at us, and Bruce picked her up quickly.

"Hey baby girl." he said with a grin and I kissed her cheek before catching Amanda who went flying right into me. "Oh god Pumpkin." I laughed and she grinned.

"Okay, shows, over." Happy said loudly to the people who were shooting us weird looks. "How was Paris Min?" he asked and I sighed.

"It was amazing." I sighed. "I have like fifteen trillion pictures to show everyone, just wait!" I grinned.

"Did you bring me a real beret?" Amanda asked and I nodded.

"Of course I did." I said. "And you, little Miss Thing, I bought you one too." I told Kayla who giggled. "Don't worry happy, you got one too." I said to him and he shook his head with a laugh.

"Oh boy." he said teasingly. We got our bags and Happy drove us to Tony's house on the beach, where the rest of the team was.

"You look so great!" Pepper said to me when I finished saying hello to everyone, and finally had a moment to talk to her.

"So do you Pep!" I said and she grinned.

"I love it here, I especially love being here and not worrying about Tony." she nodded and I laughed. "Your daughter has been keeping him busy- Well, both of them have, but Kayla, she has got him wrapped around her little finger, it's hilarious." she said and I laughed.

"You have Tony wrapped around your finger too." I said and she nodded.

"Yeah but not like this. It's actually pretty adorable." she said and lowered his voice. "Don't tell them I told you this, but I caught him, Thor, Steve and Clint all watching the kitty movie with her." she muttered and I burst out laughing.

"You did not!"

"Oh yeah, Nat, Jane and I got a picture." she nodded and I grinned.

"So, wait, Jane is here? Jane Foster?" I asked and Pepper nodded.

"Yeah, she's down at the beach with Natasha. Come on." Pepper said and I followed her down a set of outdoor stairs that led to the private beach.

"Natasha!" I called to her and she turned around and waved at me. I walked over to where she was sitting and she hugged me tightly.

"How was Paris?" she asked and I sighed.

"It was a dream." I sighed. "I wish we never had to leave."

"I know the feeling." Natasha said as Pepper went to get Jane who was knee deep in the water.

"Nat, I had a little meeting with Coulson awhile ago, I need to talk to you and Barton in awhile, something's come up."

"What's it about?" she asked.

"Business." I muttered and then smiled brightly as Pepper walked back over with the absolutely adorable, blonde haired Jane Foster. "Jane Foster, it is so good to finally meet you!" I said as I shook her hand.

"God, Thor has told me so much about you, I feel like I already know you." Jane grinned as she let go of my hand. "I- I hope that's not weird for me to say." she said quickly and I shook my head.

"Of course not, because he's done the same on our end." I replied.

"Come on, let's go back up, it's getting close to evening, and Tony's got reservations tonight." Pepper said suddenly and we all walked back up the stairs.

That night after a delicious dinner at an amazing restaurant I helped the girls settled in their room before going downstairs where Thor was building a fire in the pit in the back yard. "Tell me," he said as he tried to use the matches. "What do you think of Jane Foster?"

"I think she's great Thor." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. "I can see why you wanted her protected so diligently."

"I shudder to think of what would happen should our enemy have gotten their hands on her." Thor admitted to me and I smiled at him, before taking the matches and striking one lit. I lit the newspaper in the fire in a few places, and then handed the box back to him. "Thank you." he said and I nodded softly, before sitting down in one of the chairs next to the fire.

"What are you two talking about?" I looked up as Jane walked over and gave Thor a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and I smiled seeing the look on his face.

"Just saying we're glad everything is over, and how happy I am to finally meet you." I told her and she smiled as she sat down in a chair near the fire. "I'll be right back; I'm going to get a drink." I stood up and went to the bar where I was pouring myself a glass of white wine when Tony walked over to me.

"How you holding up Kiddo?" he asked and I smiled.

"I'm good."

"Bruce told me about Coulson's little incident earlier. Wouldn't have happened if you were still working for me." he told me and I smiled as I set down the glass and the bottle.

"Tony, you know that even underneath all of the bad decisions, SHIELD is a good thing." I told him and he nodded. "I feel like, I can help clear away those bad decisions, and then when I have, and I've got someone trustworthy to run it, someone who knows the official consulting hours, someone who can handle the fact that all of us have lives outside of the agency, then I'll come back to work for you." I told him and he sighed before nodding.

"No one will fit that criteria." he told me and I frowned lightly. "I'm not saying that to be discouraging, I'm just saying, there's no one like you Min." he told me and I smiled. "Now, let's go introduce Thor to an earth tradition. S'mores." he said as he held up a bag of mini marshmallows.

"Tony, mini marshmallows?" I asked as he looked down at them.

"This will not do. This never would have happened if you were still my assistant." he said before retreating to the kitchen. I laughed and shook my head before picking up the glass of wine I had filled up and took a sip of it.

About an hour and a half later I was able to slip away from everyone, as did Natasha and Clint, and I brought them to the bar, where I handed the file over to Natasha. I filled them in on everything Coulson had told me and they listened carefully, like I knew they would.

"You want us to kill him Min?" Clint asked and I hesitated.

"If he tries a counter attack, then yes. Our main goal is retrieving the blood, synthesized or not, it's still dangerous to have out in the world, and the same about the sample from Madame Hydra." I told them before sliding the box over to Clint. He opened it and nodded as he closed it quickly, his eyes shooting over to the door where Bruce was walking in.

"I thought we said no business." he said as his eyes landed on the folder. Natasha closed it quickly and excused herself while Clint stuck the small box in his pocket.

"It's nothing that will take too long. Right?" I asked Clint who smiled.

"Simple Grab and go." he shrugged.

"Right." he nodded slowly. He walked over to the bar and put a few ice cubes in a glass before pouring a scotch.

"You don't drink." I said and he capped the bottle.

"You don't do business on vacation." he said and I sighed before he looked over at me and smiled.

"It's for Tony." he said and I shook my head with a small smile as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, before kissing my temple.

"So Tony's planning a huge party huh?" I asked and he looked down at me in disbelief.

"Who told you?" he asked and I grinned.

"You just did." I said before walking outside. "Tony, I said no parties!" I said to him and he groaned looking at Bruce in disbelief.

"Come on man, you're killing me!" he said and Bruce shook his head as he handed the drink to Tony and then sat down next to me.

"I don't know how she does it." Bruce sighed and looked at me as I grinned.

* * *

A few days later Natasha and Clint went to do their job, they returned two days later, looking tired, and frustrated, but they had in their possession a metal briefcase with a cooling mechanism, holding a bag of synthesized blood, and a small petri dish with another blood sample.

"Did you get Sterns?" I asked and they both shook their heads.

"He got away Min." Clint said softly.

"That's alright, we'll keep an extra close eye on him, he'll make mistakes." I said softly. "Who was the buyer?"

"It was a private business." he told me.

"How do they have any reason to be using this?" I muttered as I looked at the paperwork inside of the briefcase before looking up as Bruce walked in. I closed the briefcase and he stood there for a moment as Hawkeye and I both looked at him.

"Why do I feel like I always walk in at the worst possible moment?" he asked and I chuckled before I shook my head.

"Come on in." I said and he walked in. "Bruce, you have a right to know." I slid the briefcase over to him and he looked at it for a moment before opening it.

"Sterns?" he asked and I nodded. "Did you get him?"

"Gone with the wind, but not for long." I promised and he nodded.

"This is what Coulson wanted from you last week?" he asked and I nodded.

"Sterns was about two hours out from here." I told him and he sighed.

"Which is why SHIELD didn't have a problem with you leaving the states for a month. They knew they could get you to keep up with whatever they told you to do." he looked at me and I touched his hand.

"Bruce," I said hesitantly. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine. Why wouldn't it be?" he asked as he pushed the briefcase away. He pulled his hand from mine lightly and walked outside leaving me there with Hawkeye who shook his head, took the briefcase and them made a shooing motion at me.

I nodded and walked outside, following Bruce to the bench where he sat down. He was facing the ocean, watching Thor, Jane, Pepper and Tony on the beach with the girls, I stood next to him, and he wordlessly slid over, giving me room to sit down next to him.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked as I gently stroked his cheek.

"It's just SHIELD." he said softly. "And, me, and, everything." he sighed sounding slightly defeated. "No matter what I try to do, someone out there always has something to say about me trying to live my life." he looked at me, and I noticed how very tired he looked. "And now they've pulled you into it." he said and I smiled.

"No honey, I chose to get involved." I told him. "Do you remember the first time I saw the other guy?" I continued and he tensed up slightly, but nodded. "Do you remember how SHIELD took you in that day?" I asked. "And I didn't want you to go in. I didn't want you to go, because I was scared you'd never come back. I thought, Nick Fury would send you off to some island in the middle of nowhere, or back to Calcutta or something." I sighed. "But when you came back that night, I promised myself that I would help you in whatever way I could. SHIELD didn't drag me into their little group, I chose to go because I thought if there was any way possible for me to help you, then that was it." I told him and he smiled gently as I cupped his face and ran my thumb over his unshaven for a few days cheek. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek, loving the prickly feeling of a few days old beard under my lips, he turned to look at me and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. "There's always going to be someone with something to say," I told him as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. "But that doesn't mean you can't go ahead and live your life. They can say whatever they have to say, but you've got people who love and care about you on your side, who will do anything to make sure those people never get a chance to say it to your face." I lightly brushed my lips against his. He leaned forward, catching my lips with his and I smiled, giving in to the kiss. When he finally broke away from me I gently kissed his chin.

"This doesn't mean I want you to stay involved with them forever." he informed me and I laughed.

"Oh god no." I laughed and rested my head on his shoulder. "No, I really would like another child someday." I told him. "But I don't want to be the pregnant head of a Government organization that technically shouldn't exist." I laughed and he shook his head. "What do you think about having more kids?" I asked looking up at him and he quickly moved his arm to under my knees, lifting me into his arms as he stood up. "Bruce!" I shrieked with a laugh.

"I wouldn't mind giving it a shot." he said and I giggled as he carried me upstairs.

When we got back to the States, I was brought into this life of leading SHIELD from New York, I had to go to orientations with new recruits, I had to go over tons of paperwork, and checking in on cases, seeing where our outstanding agents were, make everyone go to their SHIELD appointed psychiatric reports, which, that was a job in itself.

"Phil," I said to Coulson one afternoon as I signed some papers. "I've been thinking I should go over some new missions."

"It would probably be a good idea."

"There is no doubt in my mind that you read all of them." I said and he smiled.

"I have a fair idea of some of the missions we've got." he said and I nodded.

"Good, you can fill me in." I said as I stood up and walked to the elevator. An hour and a half later Phil found me at a coffee vending machine and handed me four thick files. "What are these?" I asked looking at them.

"Outstanding issues that need some looking into." he informed me. "I thought you might be interested in these."

"Female with extraordinary power joining a gang of local hoodlums, possible mutant, possible extra terrestrial," I read one file. "Vigilante in Hell's Kitchen," I read another. "Another vigilante who apparently has no conscious," I said as I read over some of the third file. "What's that?"

"Sorry, spilled some coffee." he said looking at where I was pointing. "We think he's an ex marine. Maybe special ops." he informed me and I nodded.

"Who's this?" I asked with a small frown. "Vernon Nolan?"

"He's an assassin, he's been off our radar for while, but there was a shooting recently that had his signature. Talk to Hawkeye about that one, he's got a past with him." Coulson informed me.

"How high of a priority is he?" I asked.

"To be honest, Hell's Kitchen is probably the one we want to focus on right now." he told me and I nodded as I closed the files.

"Sounds good. Let's get to work." I said and followed him to a large room where people put up information from this vigilante on the screen.

"Director Banner, the council is on." someone said to me and I sighed before I walked to the room full of computer screens. brBRBr "Director Banner." one of them greeted me stiffly.

"Council." I greeted all of them. "What's the occasion?" I asked.

"We noticed you didn't include Dr. Stern's statement on your report." one of the women told me and I nodded.

"That's true. Dr. Sterns is not in our custody, but I have agents remaining on this case at all times. It is a very high priority."

"What sort of Intel do you have on him?" one of the councilmen asked.

"We believe he has been disfigured as results of the exposure to condensed synthesized samples of Dr. Banner's blood, we believe he resents that, and is going by the name Leader." I reported.

"Because of the Gamma signatures you should have no problem finding him. Why is it taking so long?"

"We have reason to believe he has internal help."

"Internal in your own division?"

"No sir," I smiled at the general. "In yours." I told him. "And when we find out who is helping him, I'm going to put the entire team on that person, and they had better pray that I'm able to call them off in time." I told the general darkly, before I turned to the door.

"Director Banner?" one of the councilwomen called and I looked at her monitor. "I do hope you aren't taking this too personally."

"The only thing I take personally, ma'am, was finding the report stating you all gave permission to try to exterminate our base in Canada." I told her, and all of them. "Don't think you aren't all under surveillance as well." I stated before turning and walking out of the room.

When I got to my office I picked up a package that was wrapped in brown paper on my desk before getting my jacket and pulling it on. I went downstairs and into Time Square before calling a cab. When I got home Bruce had just picked up Kayla from preschool and she was helping set the table.

* * *

After dinner and after getting her tucked into bed I went back downstairs and got the package from my jacket pocket before going to the living room when Bruce was sitting on the couch, writing down something in a notebook. I sat down on the couch next to him and held it out. "What's this?" he asked.

"Open it." I told him and he unwrapped it, exposing the back of a picture frame, he pulled it from its packaging and turned it over before almost dropping it.

"How did you get this?" he asked as he stared down at the picture of his mother.

"The night at the cemetery, when I was poking around the car, I found it shoved between the seats." I told him and he looked at me. "I thought it would be better for you to have, because I know you don't have any pictures of her." I told him and he looked back at the picture, running his thumbs over the image of his mother.

"You would have loved her."

"I already do." I told him. "Without her, I wouldn't have you, or Kayla." I told him as I wrapped my arms around his middle. He leaned back on the couch, wrapping his arms around me, but holding onto the picture frame. "Do you like it?" I looked up at him and he nodded.

"I never thought I'd see her face again." He admitted. About an hour later we were still laying on the couch, I was mostly asleep, but was still tracing shapes on his chest with my fingers while he wrote in his notebook, his mother's picture was propped up on the coffee table in front of us. "So what's SHIELD up to tomorrow?" he asked and I looked up at him.

"Interrogating a known assassin we believe was sent to take out one of our agents who is currently on a mission." I said casually. "If they'd have gotten any closer, her entire cover would have been blown." I sighed and he nodded. "You?"

"Working with an unstable element to see if it can be used in a new line of Arc Reactors." He replied and I nodded, before I leaned up and kissed his chin.

"Be careful honey." I said and he smiled as he looked down from his notebook. He leaned down and kissed me before I lay my head back against his chest.

My MeeMaw once told me I would grow to cherish the little moments if I continued to live the life I had chosen. At first I didn't know what she meant by that, but looking back on everything that had happened, and knowing everything that would continue to happen, I realized what she meant, and I realized she was right.

I've lived a life of huge things happening all around me, of enormous events, and living among the people who would go down in history, and if I had to pick some of the greatest things to have happened to me, I'd say that those little moments were we could relax, and be ourselves and just be in love, those were the moments worth living for.

* * *

_**And there it is, the end! I really really hope you enjoyed this story! It took me forever to write the ending, and I threw a subtle hint towards the next story I'm posting. It's going to be a Hawkeye/OC story- Sorry to all your ClintTasha fans, but I had the idea for this, and I thought it was too good not to put into a story. **_

_**The story is going to be called "My Aim is True" and I hope you'll read it when I post it. It takes place in the same universe as my other stories, though it will start out before the events of "Which Me Do You Like?". **_

_**Anyways, I hope you'll give it a chance, and I hope you've enjoyed this, the last chapter of Ever Present Past. **_

_**Thanks again everyone!** _


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